Did he perhaps go too far?
Making Jake realise the possibility that his family had wronged Linda from the beginning was…
…well, it had a gratifying feeling to it.
The best part to Adam was seeing such a stubborn guy find his whole world collapse before his eyes.
Now… was that worth death?
Of course, he wasn't going to sit by and watch himself be killed. There was so sense in waiting.
Proactiveness was what protected people.
However, he wondered if telling the Crowned King about his little situation was really a good idea.
After calming down a bit, what was the probability that he'd be killed simply for taunting the guy?
Jake couldn't possibly do that.
King Ramos banned aristocrats from fighting each other, and the Arcadia Household was quiet.
It'd probably take a lot of time before someone even thinks of sending assassins and killers.
Even then, It wasn't like he had no other options.
Before contacting someone with a higher standing than him, Adam found it better to use his position.
He'd find it easier to trust an employee he could have a business relation with, rather than a 'friend'.
Not that he knew what they were, anyway…
Now, he COULD hire somebody with the remaining assets he had, but Adam was too cheap to do that.
He at least wouldn't spend it willingly, anyway.
The next best thing was to try his luck elsewhere.
'Gaia, can you hear me?' He looked at the system interface and tried to send his thoughts to her.
Out of all the people he knew, Gaia was the most trustworthy. She had a nice personality to boot!
His eyes darkened when while waiting, and was disappointed from hearing the lack of an answer.
'…I want to talk about my last Skill.'
[Are you sure about it?]
The way the answer came immediately through the blue screen felt like she was waiting for this.
'Do you monitor everyone?'
[I can hear anyone who thinks of me.]
'How does that work…?'
[It's pointless to try and imagine it. My existence straddles the line between illusion and reality.]
'But you exist though?'
[I do. But not in the form you saw me as. I am the world. To put things in perspective: My true form is nature, the planet, and reality. The 'Divine Realm' itself. And an inanimate background to most.]
'Then how can we talk?'
[You must actually study the world if you want to understand that part. Are you curious enough?]
Adam nodded his head to this inquiry.
He wasn't someone who had an aversion to studying in the first place. It wasn't a problem.
[But first, about your last requested Skill…]
'I had… some thoughts…' He thought about how Jake Arcadia might be out to get him inwardly.
He wasn't sure if the taunts he threw were real, but the messy reaction that person had was no joke.
So he had one request:
'Can you give me the skill to instantly incapacitate someone just by thinking it?' He thought it outright.
[That would be a problem.]
'How?'
[Balance.]
'Does immortality not count as an issue?'
[Surviving and dominating are different things to ask for. Moreover, the success rate would be low.]
'Then what? Am I supposed to die?' He didn't know how to feel when the situation was his own fault.
Then again, something would threaten him sooner or later. Even if it wasn't in the form of a person.
[There's a solution to this.]
'Really?!' He was all ears to whatever suggestion she was about to give. It was really important!
[I'll give you a Skill that can be used in escaping and fighting. A versatile Skill made just for you.]
'Made just for me?' He wasn't able to stop himself from feeling emotions from those reliable words.
Mother Gaia was the best!
[Do you accept this Skill? Yes/No]
When the option was given, the man didn't even bother to learn what it was before clicking on 'Yes'.
Adam wasn't disappointed by the result of this.
[You have now obtained the 'World Unity' Personal Skill. Your affinity with spacetime has increased.]
[As a possessor of a Legendary Rank skill, you have gained the Primordial Attribute: 'Space'.]
[Note: This Attribute is usually exclusive to Royalty of the Beast Race. It's best to conceal this power.]
Just then, he suddenly felt a change inside him like never before. His rapid heartbeat was resonating.
He looked towards a statue in a certain direction. A feeling of discomfort started flowing through him.
"What… What…?" He was too stunned to even make a proper response, but Gaia didn't falter.
She guided the conversation past this incident.
[You might feel some discomfort from this new power. I won't be able to speak with you directly like this now that my 'excuse' is gone. However, I hope you're able to use my protection properly.]
[The Skill I've passed onto you will help you in many ways. It's power only limited by imagination.]
[As for my last gift… I hope you accept it with open arms. Please… For me, don't reject this fortune.]
The messages through the blue screens stopped right there. He felt like their connection was cut off.
Like a bond had finally been broken.
It was an unexpected feeling of loss that he'd been trying to avoid his entire life, only to end like this.
'Damn…' He realised his decision was too hasty.
Even if it meant dragging things on, he shouldn't have accepted her last gift with such willingness.
True, the Skill she gave was definitely amazing.
Even without knowing what it did, a Legendary Rank skill was always something welcomed.
Still, how could it compare to 'her'?
Gaia… She didn't take advantage of him when he was at his lowest point. There were no strings.
Only pure, sincere compassion…
However, perhaps he wasn't worthy of such feelings. He realised that he'd made a mistake.
'There ARE people like her. They exist…!' He'd lived his entire life being skeptical, but what of it now?
What should he do now that he was proven wrong?
'I… should getter better at talking. Maybe even apologise to that… 'brother' Linda protected.' Once he put his mind to it, there was nothing he couldn't do. There was no stone that could be left unturned.
He braced himself to look at his stats again:
{Name: Adam Graham
Job: Office Administrator
Titles: Otherworlder, True Landlord, An Agent Of Gaia, Former Administrator
Personal Skills: Cooking (Common), Cleaning (Common), Land Management (Common), Lie Detection (Common), Social Barrier (Rare), Sinister Taunt (Rare), Mental Resistance (Rare), Mana Sense (Common), Geis Promise (Myth), Inspection (Myth), Astralisation (Legendary), World Unity (Legendary)
Growth Characteristic: Studious Opportunist/ Antisocial Outcast/ Unsavoury Capitalist/ Game Completionist
Unique Skill: Spirit Affinity (Exclusive)
Intrinsic Skill: Administrative Experience (Common), Management Experience (Common), Modern Education (Common), Potential Expansion (Special), Territory Liscense (Special), Deity Rank Bloodwood Immortality (Legendary)
Imaginary Attribute: None
Magic Affinity: Yin, Blood, Wood, Space
Gift Slot: Empty
Power Tier= E (Common)
Agility Tier= E (Rare)
Speed Tier= F (Common)
Defence Tier= F (Common)
Combat Prowess= F (None Combatant)]
His stats were largely as he'd expected. Even though he'd decided to change, the 'Antisocial Outcast' part of his Growth Characteristic was still there. In fact, he knew why this was the case.
He subconsciously still didn't want to socialise…
Although Gaia's compassion DID give him some incentive to change, it wasn't like a blazing fire.
In fact, the feeling was more like a lukewarm spark.
A feeling that could easily be swallowed by his inherent lazy and opportunistic thought process.
There were only two parts he was unsure of.
The first being his 'Empty' Gift Slot.
There were plenty of ways one could look at this section and misunderstood what it really meant.
It wasn't that his Innate Gift hadn't awakened…
…but rather, his Innate Gift was called 'Empty'.
Apparently, the power Adam awakened was to have no power. It was 'the ability to have nothing'.
The most useless Innate Gift he'd ever seen and will probably ever hear about. It had no benefits.
Not only did it fill up his 'Gift Slot', the fact that he had this as an Innate Gift meant that was it.
He could never train a Combat Gift anymore.
The lottery was lost…
Still, he could be happy now that his Magic Affinities had expanded. The second crucial point.
Now, all he had to do was find someone to teach him 'Mana Sense'. Something he had neglected.
Did he feel regret for not training himself?
That answer was vague…
Although he wasn't happy he didn't have any strength to protect himself with, he knew his limits.
If an Office Administrator become amazing just because he had magic, then life would be easier.
Sadly, this wasn't the case.
From what he knew, everyone other than him learned Mana Sense even before 'ascending' here.
Literally everyone knew how to manipulate Mana.
Even a child passing by knew how to do it.
This had kinda grated on his pride before, but he became used to it now his life could be in danger.
Even if he had immortality, one hit from Jake's spell would likely turn him to ashes instantaneously.
His regeneration wouldn't keep up…
Perhaps that's why his primal instincts were driving him to better his fighting capabilities a bit more.
Even if he couldn't win, he needed strength if he wanted even the slightest chance to escape.
And so, Adam was about to go hire a teacher.
However, things suddenly changed when he heard the ringing of his mansion's really noisy doorbell.
Who could possibly be visiting?
'Wait!' The fearful outcast thought of Jake.
But he immediately threw away that assumption when he remembered his reckless personality.
There was no way that guy would knock politely.
If not, then who…?
With these questions deep in his heart, Adam checked who it was through his door's terminal.
The one that connected to the outer gate, just past the garden that stretched between him and 'them'.
An image of three appeared on the terminal, and after a minutes contemplation, he let them in.
The capitalist's thoughts on Gaia's last words.
He was ready to accept his last fortune.
Though whether they were a fortune or not seemed suspicious after they'd walked in.
'What the-?' He didn't even have time to think before the only young man among them spoke:
"Yoooo~ The name is Kang Hyuk. We were just passing by until a weird message pointed us here."
"Weird message?"
"It was like an arrow. Whelp… sorry for bothering you. It looks like you didn't know." The handsome faced young man seemed like he was about to say his goodbyes. The situation seemed awkward.
On Kang Hyuk's back was a drunk old man who looked totally hammered, while the other man quietly stood there with his walking stick. His shaky legs seemed ready to give out at any moment.
There was a million reasons why he should let them go. None of them seemed useful in any way at all.
How was two geezers on the verge of dying of old age and a young man supposed to help him live?
None of them looked like fighting types…!
Still, out of the respect he had for Gaia, he decided to be hospitable. There was no reason not to.
"Since fate guided you here… You- Umm… You can stay a while." His eyes moved away while talking.
"Really~?! Just for the night?"
"Actually, I'm looking for someone to teach me how to use 'Mana Sense'. That Skill all Ascenders get."
"…You don't know how to use it?" Even someone as frivolous as this playful stud seemed surprised.
His situation was definitely rare.
Usually, Adam would go into detail for the sake of keeping the mood stable, but he didn't do so.
The way Kang Hyuk looked at him was so… kind and sociable. He wasn't used to these types at all.
The unsavoury capitalists liked cold and rational people like King Ramos. They all kept distance.
However, this damn bastard immediately jumped into his personal space and hugged him happily.
Adam felt revolted from how 'touchy' he was.
"Thank you! I almost thought we'd live on the streets forever… You don't know how hard it was."
"Okay. Now get off me." Kang Hyuk immediately let go when he noticed the displeasure in his eyes.
His hands were up like he was playing innocent.
"I can teach you that, but can these guys stay with me? They're in a bad spot and have no money."
"You're helping them because of that?"
"Exactly! Shouldn't we Otherworlders stick together in hard times?" He spoke quite innocently.
"…Right." The words he heard felt alien to his penny pinching virtues. They felt straight out of a comic.
Thus, he let them stay. It wasn't like there wasn't any extra rooms in this big house for them to stay.
His heart was struggling NOT to kick them out.