The rude knocking belonged to a scowling lanky man, his red hair jagged and disheveled.
He immediately launched into a scolding rant, "About time! What is this I hear about you hiding potential members from us?"
Claude exuded a cold air around him, a hand guiding Liam off to the side to prevent him from being spotted.
The young boy understood the silent request, slipping out of sight wordlessly.
"Ye Qiu, I told you to get out of my business." Claude had a sullen expression on his face, one Nox recognized all too easily.
He groaned inwardly. 'This bastard, he isn't about to do that again is he?'
Ye Qiu scoffed, bracing an arm against the doorway to make himself seem more intimidating.
"See here," Ye Qiu dragged out his words slowly, brown eyes drifting to Nox standing behind Claude. "I'm not here for you this time. I'm here for him."
Nox responded dryly, "I'm flattered."
Hearing Nox's words, Ye Qiu adopted a satisfied smirk. "You should be."
He was a bit dull too.
Despite Nox's odd expression, Ye Qiu continued, "If this brat recruited you, then I'm sure you have some value. Why don't you join Arcadia?"
Nox asked, "Arcadia?" He recognized that name. It was the group Claude mentioned before. The organization that was considered as the major power in B City.
Ye Qiu gave Nox a grin full of sharp teeth, giving Nox the impression of a shark's mouth.
"All of our members have benefits that a normal group of people wouldn't be able to acquire. Trials are much safer to pass with a group of reliable comrades, don't you agree? The better our boss thinks about you, the more benefits you get. Not to mention-"
A dark sword appeared in Claude's hand with a crackle of energy.
The handle of the sword was wrapped in a soft, black leather that shielded the wielder's hand from extensive wear. Its long blade seemed to glow in warning as Claude adjusted his grip.
He swung it to the side, easily wielding the large weapon.
Nox noted a hint of nervousness in Ye Qiu's voice as he scoffed, backing away from the doorway. "If you deal with me now, you will have the whole Arcadia group on your back."
"I can just kill the whole group then."
Nox sighed at Claude's familiar tone.
The latter was really a handful now that he had access to actual weapons.
At least before, it was always the nearest object which usually meant a textbook or a seat mate's notebook.
One of the more well known topics of gossip in their school had been about Claude's uncanny precision in hitting people. Anyone who managed to annoy the blue eyed teen got an object tossed squarely at their head.
Up until Claude left, he had never missed once.
"Ah- it's you again!"
Lei's shout travelled towards the three men as she stood a step outside the wide open gate with Li Zemin in tow. The plastic bag the purple haired teenager held dropped onto the ground, causing some of the items to tumble out.
'... Is that pudding?' His stomach growled quietly at the thought.
Nox watched as Lei's aura spiked in her upset state, a beautiful spectral purple.
'...Huh?'
"Why do you keep harassing us?" Lei pointed an accusatory finger at the red haired man, her oversized jacket slipping off a shoulder. "Are you trying to pick a fight?"
Before Ye Qiu could retort, Lei continued, "Brother could've taken out the trash the first time this happened, but I can't let him deal with small fry so easily."
Nox and Li Zemin listened attentively.
Ye Qiu leaned closer to face Lei with a furious look. "Small fry!? Me? Brat, watch your mouth."
"Don't tell her what to do."
Nox and Claude spoke out at the same time.
"I suggest you watch your own mouth, or you'll be missing your tongue next," Claude warned, letting the tip of his sword rest against the ground.
Sweat started to drip down Ye Qiu's face as he faced the two men behind him, a hateful laugh squeezing out of his throat. "I have backup, you won't be able to do anything."
Lei clapped her hands in mock surprise, turning to Li Zemin. "Uncle Li, now that I think about it, there was a really suspicious looking man a few houses away right?"
Li Zemin nodded his head cooperatively, "I remember him. I also remember how you knocked him unconscious before we came back because he was harassing two younger girls."
He winked at Nox's puzzled expression.
Nox only felt a slight gust of wind to his right before Claude's sword tip rested at the base of Ye Qiu's throat. "Leave."
Ye Qiu had an odd gleam in his eyes as he raised both of his hands as a sign of surrender.
Nox stiffened, "This aura-"
Aura- it was what allowed someone to judge a person's strength.
The minotaur's aura had been full of bloodlust, while the Red Queen's aura had felt explosive and dominating.
On the other hand, the aura that humans produced were much clearer than existences in trials.
Seeing the rising red aura approaching them, Nox paused in his thoughts.
Come to think of it, when had he been able to start seeing aura?
Lei quickly picked up the stray pudding cup and her bags, running over to Claude's side. With a wary expression, she got into a defensive stance .
Li Zemin hurried after, choosing to hide behind Nox.
Nox wordlessly shifted so Li Zemin had nowhere to hide.
Li Zemin ducked back behind Nox and gripped his shoulders like a clingy remora fish on a shark.
The red haired man greeted the new arrivals, eyes squinting in relief. "Boss!"
A foot mercilessly kicked Ye Qiu's legs, causing him to fall down with a squeal of pain.
"Awhe!"
The man snorted, staring at his subordinate coldly. "Disgraceful."
A navy two-piece suit wrapped around his impressive figure, dark hair slicked back to show his strong features. One hand was placed in his pants pocket, enforcing his overbearing aura.
"Ye Qiu, it seems that you do not know the boundaries of human shame."
A thin, gentle-looking man next to the suited man sighed, a troubled expression on his face.
The pale wool sweater he wore contrasted against the sharp edges of the other man's demeanor and appearance. His soft bangs covering his forehead made him look around the age of a college student.
"Bai Yu, this is why no one is willing to partner up with you in trials."
The three people behind them were silent, staring at the scene with tired faces. They seemed to be used to the routine already.
Bai Yu's eyes lingered on Nox for a beat too long before he addressed Claude.
"It's you again."
Claude narrowed his eyes, not deigning to give an answer.
The other man coughed lightly, approaching Nox with slow but confident steps. He was slightly limping on his right leg. "I'm sorry about his behavior. My name is So Jiwoo, one of the leaders in Arcadia. You can just call me Jiwoo."
Nox shook his hand. "Nox."
"Li Zemin."
So Jiwoo started slightly at Li Zemin's appearance, but he gave the brown haired man a friendly smile.
"It's nice to meet you. Claude, we meet again."
Claude gave a courtesy nod to Jiwoo.
So Jiwoo gave Bai Yu a warning glance, going over to help Ye Qiu up.
The red haired man sniffled as he grabbed onto the offered hand. "Second Boss..."
"I'm the one who doesn't yell at you yet I'm still the second boss?" So Jiwoo lightly smacked the top of Ye Qiu's head, making the unruly red hair even more messy.
Ye Qiu dropped his head at the reprimand.
So Jiwoo's tone remained light. "Go back to base first or Bai Yu won't let you in later."
Hesitant between his boss's stone cold face and So Jiwoo's light scolding, Ye Qiu nodded. "Yes..."
He shot a glance at the two men standing in the doorway of the house, like two guardians preventing him from reaching the end of a quest.
He had learned how to rely on his instincts lately, and they had not failed him yet.
But there was nothing he could do about it with his bosses there. Bai Yu would be able to force them to submit, anyway. Even if Bai Yu couldn't force them, So Jiwoo would definitely be able to. The soft spoken man sometimes managed to appear scarier than Bai Yu himself.
With this thought in mind, Ye Qiu happily fled the scene without a guilty conscience.
"Has he been able to sway you yet?" So Jiwoo asked Claude politely.
Claude shook his head.
Despite his hostility to Bai Yu, he seemed to restrain his annoyance with So Jiwoo.
Bai Yu scoffed, "I recall asking you to join the group before. It seems like you've collected some subordinates of your own instead." The man sneered. "Trying to establish an independent group?"
The one in front of them before was a nuisance, but his boss even more so.
"I think you've misunderstood something." Nox stepped forward with an amicable smile on his face. There was only so much someone could take lying down. "In this place, the only way you can make someone do something is through force."
Bai Yu paused.
"So take a guess," Nox narrowed his eyes. "Can I make you kneel at my feet? Or not?"
"Hah!" Bai Yu scoffed at the challenge. "You don't know who you're dealing with, that much is clear. A fool would sooner make me kneel at their feet than you ever could."
A heavy aura pressed down around them, causing two of the subordinates behind Bai Yu to let out cries of surprise.
Li Zemin staggered behind Nox, wheezing out a surprised exclamation.
"Shit!"
Nox could feel the aura pressing around him, demanding him to succumb to the pressure.
He refused it easily, feeling a hint of satisfaction when Bai Yu's eyes widened in surprise.
Slowly, he spread out his aura around Li Zemin to relieve some of the pressure from the perm head.
"Eh, why is it gone all of a sudden?" Li Zemin asked in confusion.
Claude and Lei were unaffected by Bai Yu's show of dominance.
So Jiwoo broke through the tense atmosphere with a stern warning.
"Bai Yu. Enough."
"Don't order me around like a dog, So Jiwoo."
"Obeying orders is all you are good at anyway. I don't see a difference."
Bai Yu's face started to turn red. "So Jiwoo, you think you're all that, don't you?"
The pressure lifted from the others, now directing itself at a sole individual.
So Jiwoo answered indifferently, "I don't know what you are trying to imply. I'm simply saying that your actions will affect Arcadia's image as well."
"Yeah, listen to him," Li Zemin nodded along to So Jiwoo's words. "Don't pick a fight you can't win."
Bai Yu let out a sound of indignant frustration at Li Zemin's words, straightening his suit jacket. He addressed them coldly, "I won't forget this."
Nox let out a light sigh as Bai Yu's pressure retracted completely.
"I will ask once more. Mr. Claude, join the Arcadia Group or you'll come to regret it."
Shit, this guy was persistent.
Lei spoke up, "You have a pretty thick face, don't you?"
So Jiwoo turned his face away, his shoulders shaking faintly.
"You come here to bother Brother, then you threaten Uncle," Lei counted on her fingers. "That's two."
Bai Yu stared down at the teenager girl, unimpressed. "Little girl, stay out of things that don't concern you."
A mysterious smile crossed Lei's face. "That's three strikes now, Bai Yu."
The only warning Bai Yu got was an intense spike of aura from the girl in front of him before he was sent flying back into the street, Lei's hand still outstretched.
Crackling purple lighting rested on her fingertips.