The next morning, Sir Steward was in front of Nero's office.
"Come in."
Sir Steward came in and sat down on the chair in front of Nero.
"So what happened to you?"
Sir Steward had burn marks all over his body and had a few bruises here and there.
"I'll tell you later, Adam's been in contact with quite a few interesting figures."
Nero laughed it off, it was a first for him to see someone marked for their high ability in such a state.
"Well, my men investigated the area and it's also been very interesting."
Nero took out a gem and placed it in front of him.
"A red gem? What about it? It may be valuable but that's only to nobles, what does it have to do with the kidnappers?"
"Look closer."
Nero covered the gem in a barrier and let sunlight in. The red gem suddenly turned into a red corrosive slime. Afterward, Nero threw a piece of chicken bone, and the red slime completely dissolved it in a flash.
"What is that? I've never heard of such a monster before."
Nero smiled and said in a dark tone, "Cause there wasn't any before, this is man-made."
Nero threw dirt that was commonly found in the wasteland and the slime dissolved instead. Even a fraction of dirt completely ceased the red slime's existence.
"Suffice to say, this is something to take note of."
"Then how did you manage to get a hold of this then?"
"It was actually unbelievable if I were to put it into words, then the odds of this happening is once an era. Let me explain, when we got there there wasn't a single trace. We searched around but found nothing, we weren't to just give up. We decided to spend the night searching around but nothing. As we were about to give up, a Giant Dirt Whale came to the surface and attacked us. After dealing with it, inside, we saw a red gem turn into a red slime and dissolved the man's corpse only leaving a femur bone behind. As it was about to finish it off, the dirt inside the Giant Dirt Whale's mouth killed the slime. Now you get it?"
"Ha... that's some insane 'luck' right there. The Giant Dirt Whale species is mostly a peaceful beast and only goes up to breathe or to mate. It only breathes once every hundred years and mates only once in its lifetime. Also, the odds of it both happening at the same time and also being a rare type that attacks others really is a once an era event. Considering that it ate something and didn't gulp it down is also a miracle in of itself!"
"If this specific kind of event didn't occur, then we wouldn't have found out what happened to them. I don't know if Adam is connected to it but I think there is a strong possibility."
"Well, I am more than sure that Adam is connected to it. I trailed him after I saw him leave the school covered in wounds. It was quite suspicious, at first but when I remembered that he said he was already living in the city for quite a while, I got interested and followed him."
"He went to a shady part of the kingdom and entered a run-down building, I came closer to try and listen to what he was going to do in there but all of a sudden the whole place exploded! I panicked, I thought Adam was still there so I rummaged through everything but there was nobody, I didn't even smell any burning bodies. It took an entire day to settle everything that went on."
"The following day, I was now serious, I saw Adam get on Lady Isabelle's carriage. They went to the Mason household but a few minutes later Adam got out. He counted the coins and uh... threw it in my direction."
"He, what?"
"Nevermind that. He knew he was being followed so I gave up and decided to listen in to what the Mason household's impression on Adam when all of a sudden the whole mansion shook. The mansion was coming down on me. Luckily, I managed to escape before they noticed me."
"The only thing that's suspicious on Adam's part was the exploding building. Ask him about that, if he can give a good explanation then we can ignore what just happened. Though the Mason household is also suspicious, especially when he forcefully enrolled a kid with no redeeming qualities and had him become roommates with Adam."
*Knock Knock*
Someone was outside.
"Who is it? This is not the time for trivial matters."
"It's Adam, I've got a very good explanation to give you."
"Come in. Sit down and make yourself comfortable."
"No need, I'll be quick. David The Doctor is backing me."
Adam immediately left right after he said that.
Sir Steward had his eyes wide open and Nero was at a loss.
"Who's that?"
"The supposedly new ruler of the underground. We have no other choice, let this matter go. There is an extremely delicate balance at play here, if we provoke the underground then even the king would be troubled."
Nero took a deep breath and sighed, "Adam, what a goddamn monster. He showed up just a few days ago and there has been more trouble this week than it has been for the past year."
"His sudden appearance is a little old, hey Steward. Give me the coins Adam gave you."
Sir Steward although confused, gave Nero the gold coins. Nero then examined them and then rested his head on both of his arms.
"These have been tampered with, he has been listening to us this entire time. Ever since you got these coins, you've been compromised."
After attending a fruitless day of school, Adam spent the rest of his day hiding from Richard. The following day, the teacher taught something actually useful.
"Yeah, yeah. Another mandatory lesson, though today we will be talking about the Royal Knights, something that should pique your interest."
The students, compared to the last lessons were listening intently.
"There are 81 Royal Knights that protect and peace and prosperity of the kingdom. Each and every one of them holds a trait that supersedes all others, it is not to say that they hold an innately powerful trait but they familiarized themselves with what they can and cannot do. Some of them even strengthened their traits and evolved them through specialized methods."
"Now let us go to the training grounds! Let's have some fun!"
All the students went along.
After class ended, the cycle repeated until two weeks later when the monthly tournament started. Adam joined and immediately lost on the first round.
There was something earth-shattering that happened though, a dark horse appeared, it was Richard. He managed to place in the top 100 on his first try. These rankings were for everyone in the school and his subordinates weren't too bad placing in top 1000-1500.
The next day, the resources were allocated and Adam gave it away without any hassle since there was something more important on his mind, it was Zane. He left after dealing with everything in the school.
In the wasteland, a few hours from the kingdom was Zane and Adam.
Zane already enrolled two weeks ago and was undergoing training in the wasteland. He was drenched in sweat while lying on the ground.
"So, buddy! How's it going?"
"Hah, hah. Getting the hang of it!" There was a determined look in his eyes.
Zane's character changed in these few weeks. He no longer had a timid nature but a wild and charismatic one.
"Although changing attitudes due to an awakening trait is common, I liked it better when I first met you."
"What? So you could take advantage of me? Hahahaha!" Zane's small physique and attitude completely contrasted.
"Well, even now you are gonna take advantage of me. I don't really care as long as you give me what I want! I even placed in the top 2000, you know! That's already quite the achievement! Your routine really is extreme but effective!"
"Not really, Richard's subordinates ranked top 1000-1500, so you have to work harder. Oh, here's the thing you wanted, you pervert."
Adam threw a white panty towards Zane. Zane grabbed it with his exhausted arms and widely grinned.
"It really is! It's the exact pair I saw yesterday! Even getting something as shameful as this, and from a noble to boot. You really can give me anything I want."
Adam's face slightly reddened, he may be cunning but he is still a child right now. The matters of the opposite sex are still new to him.
"Of course I can. Work hard now because if you don't I'll get another bodyguard, that '2' is still a suitable candidate with his indestructible body."
"Of course I will! By the way, I got the name of my trait now. It's called Beacon."
Adam thought to himself, Beacon? Quite an odd name for his trait, it signifies to be seen by all. He strengthens others, so does his trait has not fully awakened yet? To be in the spotlight yet only strengthen others, it's quite sad.
Zane weakly stood up and looked at what Adam was writing on.
"What's that?"
"It's my daily report to the doctor. He needed some kind of basis to start with so I am writing about your progress."
"What are those weird symbols?"
"It's a special language the doctor and I made up. That way no one else can figure out the contents of the journal. Well anyways, let's head back, make sure you eat a ton even if you have to force yourself."
"I was planning on doing it in the first place!"
Adam and Zane went back to the dorms. After Adam successfully hid from Richard and Zane eating at the cafeteria, they went to their rooms.
"Say, why do you keep hiding from Richard?"
"We have some bad history between us but I can't say it its to the point of death."
"Knowing you, I know you could make some plan with your trait and have him expelled, that way you don't have to be bothered."
"Then that would ruin my future plans. I need him to be very strong, he is going to be a hero!"
"How is he going to get strong without your help? The teachers here teach dumb things."
"No, they do teach really efficient ways it's just that my way is much better."
"Yeah, they are trash."
Adam's face fell, it's going to be troublesome if he says this kind of thing in public.
"Don't say these things to others! I don't any attention other from the people who deserve it."
"So the teachers here are pathetic, right? Even they can't meet your standards."
Adam's face fell even harder, I really much preferred it when he was a timid child. His attitude right now is really going to-
"By the way, I got a girlfriend now? A girl told me if they could be my girlfriend. Hey Adam, what does that mean?"
Adam could literally cry right now. I knew he was trouble but he got a girlfriend already? Just how much trouble could he cause? Little did Adam know, he did cause much more trouble, like for example having the peace of the kingdom balance at the tips of his fingers.
"She's older than me, she told me she was 15. Hey Adam, what does that mean?"
"She has some odd tastes. Good night."
"A-Adam? Odd tastes? Hey Adam, wake up! What does she eat, does she eat kids like me? Is getting a girlfriend getting eaten by her? H-Hey! Adam save me! I don't wanna get eaten! Waaahhhh"
Ah, Zane, his attitude may have changed but its good to know he is still the same timid kid he was when we found him. I'll tell him tomorrow.
Adam closed off and drifted off to sleep peacefully while Zane was silently crying muttering words like save me, no choice, better her than me.
When Adam woke up to clear the misunderstanding, Zane was already wide awake. He searched around and was just in time to witness an amusing scene where Zane was confronting a well-grown woman.
There was only one thought that entered Adam's thoughts, "She matured fast."
Zane had a determined look in his eyes and brandished a sword.
"You can't be my girlfriend! I won't let myself get eaten by you!"
Shocked gasps could be heard all over the hallway. Some furious, some envious, some looking disgusted at the girl and some just laughing, Adam was among them.
"W-Wait! It's a misunderstanding! I wasn't planning on that at all! I just-"
"You can't lie to me! My friend told me you were going to eat me! He's the smartest person alive and my best friend!"
Adam felt touched, naive people are really touching but at the same entertaining.
"No, everyone! I wasn't planning to do anything at all!"
Some onlookers were having some fun teasing the girl.
"Hey Anna, you like them young, huh?"
"If I was that kid, I honestly wouldn't mind."
"I can take up his role instead! I'll show you who'll eat who!"
She ran away crying.
Adam couldn't help himself and went to Zane while bursting out in laughter.
"Hahahahaha! Zane, what a treat! You better watch your back now. She's Anna Euance, she has a small but devoted to following her around due to her beauty. I'll be looking forward to the play."
Adam immediately faded into the crowd thus Zane stood there in the middle of the crowd.
"Nice catch, kid! White hair, red eyes, big melons, what more can you want?"
"Lucky bastard!"
"I can see why she went for you if you want I can be your girlfriend instead, hahaha. But seriously hit me up if you're interested." She wasn't joking and left her dorm number on a piece of paper on his school uniform and quickly left.
Adam saw this and laughed even harder.