Layla Costine was chatting with her friends when they suddenly felt someone release their mana aura.
"Who dares to unleash their mana aura at the Silverblade party?"
Layla said, turning her gaze in the direction of the disturbance.
The group followed her lead.
"Look, it's Lance,"
Julia said with a teasing tone.
"I think he's causing trouble for your little lover."
Julia wasn't worried.
In her mind, Layla's partner had to be someone exceptional.
Even though Layla had told her about the bet and how Xerox became her partner, Julia trusted Layla 's judgment.
She didn't know much about Xerox, but she knew Layla well.
For Layla to agree to go out with someone, even as part of a bet, she must have some level of respect or trust in that person.
As for Lance, Julia didn't think much of him.
He had reached Rank-5, but it was no secret that he relied on elixirs rather than skill or experience.
Compared to other Rank-5s who had conquered dungeons and gained real-world experience, Lance was hardly impressive.
"If not for his father's influence, I'd have already dealt with that man,"
Sophia said with a scowl.
Sophia disliked Lance even more than Julia did.
At every party she attended with Layla , Lance would hover around, pestering Layla and acting like they were destined to be together.
Sophia couldn't stand men like him—arrogant and completely indifferent to whether the other person shared their feelings.
She had encountered a similar suitor herself and knew just how frustrating it could be.
She valued personality over talent or background, which was rare for someone like her.
With her own extraordinary talent and her father being the federation master of the Diamond Federation, she wasn't impressed by men who boasted about their achievements.
To her, it was like someone bragging about getting 90 points on a test when she had already scored 100.
Sophia's patience ran out when she saw Lance targeting their guards.
She stepped forward and created a mana barrier around them to shield them from his aura.
"Lance,"
she said firmly, her voice filled with authority,
"don't think you can do whatever you want just because of your father's position. This isn't your home."
I watched as Sophia stepped forward to help the guards.
"Sofia, don't be angry. I was just helping you by teaching these guards a lesson,"
Lance said, finally withdrawing his aura.
"Teaching them a lesson? You don't get to decide if our guards are treacherous or not,"
Sophia replied, glaring at him.
"If you don't have a proper explanation for this, I'll have to ask you to leave right now."
Lance pointed at me and said,
"If the guards aren't treacherous, how did they let an unauthorized person inside? I told them to kick him out, but they refused."
I couldn't help but find the situation amusing.
Lance's reputation as a third-rate villain made perfect sense now.
He was so full of himself, assuming everything should go his way without thinking about the consequences—probably because of his father's influence.
Sophia wasn't having any of it.
"Lance, this is ridiculous. That's Layla's guest. I know you've been chasing after her for years, but don't drag me into your petty schemes,"
she said angrily.
Her words hit him hard, but Lance refused to back down.
He insisted I didn't belong here, even though it was obvious I was with Layla.
Just then, Professor Layla approached me.
"Xerox, are you okay? Why is Professor Lance giving you a hard time?"
she asked with concern.
"I'm fine,"
I replied calmly.
"He's just trying to make me look bad by accusing me of sneaking in without an invitation."
Layla sighed.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Xerox. I forgot to give you the invitation card earlier. Sophia and I are close, so I didn't think it would be a problem bringing you along. I didn't expect Lance to act like this."
"Don't worry about it,"
I said.
How could an arrogant and impulsive man like Lance hold his anger when the woman he liked was holding hands with another man?
"Sophia, just because Professor Layla invited him doesn't prove anything,"
Lance said.
"If that's the case, can I bring barbarians to the party? We are people of high society. Associating with a poor boy like him lowers our standards. I'm sure the guests here agree with me."
Lance tried to rally the crowd against me by painting me as someone unworthy of being there.
"Yes, he shouldn't be here!"
someone said.
"This is unacceptable. If you don't kick him out, I might have to leave,"
another added.
Most of those siding with Lance were trying to curry favor with him.
Some were simply jealous or upset that I was with Layla Costine.
"Layla, I'll explain everything,"
she said, starting to step forward.
I gently held her hand and stopped her.
"Layla, let me handle this. Professor Lance has a problem with me."
Lance hated me, and I knew this wouldn't be the last time he caused trouble.
Ignoring him wouldn't help, and if he planned to seek revenge no matter what, I might as well deal with him my way.
"Professor Lance,"
I said, stepping forward.
"Why are you acting like a spoiled child? You're accusing me without evidence. How do you even know if I have an invitation or not?"
Lance sneered.
"Evidence? You? Nobody from a Silver-ranked federation has an invitation? Don't make me laugh."
"And what if I do have an invitation?"
I asked calmly.
"If you do,"
Lance snapped,
"then I'll leave this party immediately."
I pulled out the invitation card and held it up for everyone to see.
I wanted to end this nonsense quickly.
Lance stared at the card, his smirk disappearing.
Shock spread across his face.
"Th-This... How is this possible?"
"Now that you see I have an invitation, stop bothering me with your foolishness,"
I said.
"You're a professor, so act like one instead of embarrassing yourself."
I walked away with Layla, leaving Lance frozen in place.
The crowd whispered as they watched him.
Then Sophia clapped her hands.
"Now that the issue is settled, let's continue the party!"
she announced.
The crowd dispersed, and Lance stormed out, furious.
"I didn't know you had an invitation,"
Layla said as we walked.
"Where did you get it?"
"It was sent to my company a few days ago,"
I replied.
"Your company? Do you have a company?"
"Yes, a small one I started not too long ago."
"A small company?"
she repeated, clearly surprised.
She didn't ask more, sensing I wasn't ready to share everything.
Soon, Sophia and others approached us.
"Hehe, Little Lover,"
Sophia teased.
"I didn't expect you to be so sly. You could've shown the invitation earlier, but instead, you humiliated Lance in front of everyone."
"This is?"
I asked, noticing someone new in the group.
"She's Julia Robert, one of my classmates,"
Sophia said.
"She works as a law enforcer."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Xerox Zee,"
I said.
"Lance and his friend didn't give me a chance to show the invitation. I think he just wanted to make a scene and embarrass me in front of everyone."
"That sounds like something Lance would do,"
Julia said with a small laugh.
"Still, you should be careful. Lance and Justin Scott might try to get back at you."
"Justin Scott?"
I asked.
"The guy with Lance. He's not as powerful as Lance, but his father is the federation master of DevilFuckers. He might involve his federation to get revenge,"
Julia warned.
"DevilFuckers?"