Chapter 194: Deal
Chapter 194
As she remained in silence Alex waited for quite some time.
To be frank, in a way he had expected her to reject his conditions immediately, but surprisingly, she seemed to be genuinely considering them.
After several more seconds, she finally nodded and said.
"Deal."
Alex blinked.
"That easily?"
"The conditions you just asked for seem reasonable enough." Her tone remained cold. "As long as you don’t chide away from completing some of the organization’s important operations, I have no reason to restrict your personal life."
She then dug her hand into her pocket and raised one hand, with a small black object that shone like a dark matte crystal, now in between her fingers.
From the looks of it, It was a black token that... Wait a minute. He recognized it.
Didn’t it look remarkably similar to the token that the Ascendant Realm Awakened had given him in front of Olivia’s house back when he was still at Rank C. But in a way this one felt a bit different.
The woman tossed it toward him. Alex caught it effortlessly and examined the black token carefully.
"This will serve as temporary proof of your identity."
"Tomorrow, someone will come and pick you up. They will take you to the organization and familiarize you with how everything works."
"You will need that token in your hand as proof that I personally authorized your entry. Afterward, you’ll receive your own identification card."
Alex turned the token over in his fingers. Unlike the previous one, this one did not have a phone number. Instead, there were several strange markings engraved across its surface.
He couldn’t understand what they meant, but something about them made him feel that this wasn’t an ordinary identification token.
Whatever it was, the fact that the woman had personally handed it to him probably meant that it carried considerably more authority than the one he’d received before.
"Tomorrow?"
"Yes."
The woman didn’t bother elaborating. And Alex didn’t push any further, he just looked up. By now, the last traces of sunlight had begun disappearing beyond the horizon. And night was now beginning to descend.
The woman slowly turned around. Then, to Alex’s surprise, her feet gradually left the ground and then she began floating into the evening sky.
Alex watched silently in awe as she rose higher and higher, with her long silver hair flowing behind her as the evening wind passed around her body.
Before she disappeared into the distant sky, she looked down at him one final time.
"Don’t lose that token. and don’t you dare think of leaving this country. You hear me?"
Alex nodded.
"Rest assured I won’t."
Without another word, the woman accelerated into the distance. Within moments, her figure had completely disappeared from Alex’s line of sight.
After she was gone, the surrounding forest finally became quiet once more. Alex still remained standing where he was, staring at the empty sky.
After everything that had happened today, he had somehow managed to acquire yet another problem.
He slowly lowered his gaze toward the black token in his hand.
His expression became complicated.
"From losing my women to nearly getting killed by a Transcendent..."
He let out a helpless sigh.
"What a ridiculous day."
Alex slipped the token into his Spatial Storage Space before turning around.
There was nothing more he could do tonight.
With Nyx and Jade gone, Caelan’s terrifying strength fresh in his mind, and now an unexpected connection to a secret powerful organization added to his already growing list of problems, Alex knew that his peaceful life was probably over.
Still, he couldn’t afford to complain.
If joining the organization gave him access to information, resources, powerful female Awakeneds, and opportunities to grow stronger, then perhaps this unexpected encounter wasn’t entirely bad.
Alex began walking through the forest toward the city. His expression gradually became more determined.
By the time he finally made it back home, it was already late into the night. For once, he only wanted to let his tired mind rest without thinking about tomorrow.
He could have easily returned home within or less than a minute by relying on either his superhuman speed, or Void Step. It would have made the journey even shorter, but he deliberately chose not to use either option.
Instead, he simply chose to walk.
After everything that had happened during the day, walking quietly through the night actually helped clear his mind from all of today’s events.
Like how Nyx had been taken away. And Jade had also been taken away with her. How he had nearly died fighting Caelan.
Then, as if all of that wasn’t enough, he had accidentally encountered a terrifying Transcendent Realm Awakened while relaxing in a lake deep in the forest and somehow ended up joining a secret military or was it a government organization.
Alex couldn’t help but sigh whenever he thought about it.
What an absolutely ridiculous day.
By the time he arrived home, it was already late into the night. Alex didn’t bother stopping to eat, shower, or even his system status. He simply walked upstairs, entered his room, and collapsed face down onto his bed.
The moment his head touched the pillow, his exhausted mind finally surrendered to that warm fuzzy feeling of sleep, and within seconds, Alex was completely fast asleep.
...By the time he opened his eyes again, sunlight was already shining through the curtains.
Alex slowly lifted his head from the pillow and blinked several times.
"Morning already?"
He rubbed his face before eventually getting out of bed.
Although he had woken up later than usual, he still had enough time to meet Doris and spend part of the day checking on some of Nyx’s companies.
With Nyx gone, Alex didn’t want to leave anything unattended. Fortunately, everything they inspected appeared to be operating normally.
However, the companies were spread across several locations, and the day was already moving quickly.
After visiting only some of them, Alex and Doris decided to postpone the remaining visits until another day. It was best they did that, lest they wear themselves out.
By the time they finished for the day, both of them were hungry.
"Let’s go get something to eat," Alex said.
Doris nodded.
They eventually arrived at a high-quality five-star restaurant downtown and booked a private room where they could eat without being disturbed.
After they had taken their seats, a waiter came in and politely handed them the menus. They selected several dishes, and after confirming their order, the waiter bowed before leaving the private room.
The second the door closed behind him, Doris remained silent for a moment before suddenly speaking.
"Alex, I’m going to use the restroom. I’ll be back soon."
Alex nodded casually.
"Okay. Just don’t take too long."
Doris gave a nod, stood up and then walked toward the door. The moment she stepped outside the private room, her expression changed.
She glanced around the quiet corridor before activating her Eye of Chronos, causing her normal eyes to turn light purple with distinct clock-like design slowly rotating as she activated her own ability to slow down time.
Unlike Alex whose previous limit had been twenty times before finally entering forty times, Doris could actually make time go a whooping ninety five times slower than normal.
So in the next instant, the flow of time around her slowed dramatically. If anyone were watching with their own two eyes it would have looked as if the entire world was almost frozen.
Then after activating her ability, Doris calmly turned around and walked back into the private room. Alex still remained seated where she had left him, completely unaware of what was happening.
Doris approached him silently, took out her phone, and opened the call recording Nyx had instructed her to make Alex hear.
She pressed play. But because time was still very slow, the recording remained silent for the moment. After doing that Doris then turned around and walked back outside the room.
Only after she had reached a sufficient distance did she deactivate her Eye of Chronos. Then after waiting for a few minutes, since she thought it was best he probably heard it alone, she turned back.
When she opened the door, her expression was completely normal.
"Sorry for taking so long."
She walked back to her seat as though nothing had happened.
Alex didn’t immediately respond. His fists were clenched tightly beneath the table. The recording had already told him everything he needed to know.
So that was the real reason the Von Aurelian Family had insisted on taking Nyx back. They wanted to marry her to some bastard from the House of Blumonté.
Alex’s expression remained calm, but beneath that calm exterior, anger was boiling violently.
He had already suspected that the family had another reason for taking Nyx away, but hearing the truth directly still made his blood run cold.
They wanted to use Nyx as a political marriage.
His fingers tightened. He wanted nothing more than to immediately go there and drag Nyx back himself.
But Alex slowly forced himself to calm down. Getting angry wouldn’t solve anything, if anything it would make him only do something rash he might later regret.
Fortunately, Nyx had done something extremely important before she left. She had bought him time.
Three months.
Three months was more than enough. With the amount of Desire Energy currently stored in his system slot, Alex didn’t even need three months to break through.
He only needed roughly one month.
Once he reached A Rank and stepped into the Master Realm, everything would change. His strength would rise to another level entirely, and his ability to protect the people he cared about would increase dramatically.
Alex slowly released his clenched fists.
For the first time since learning about Nyx’s arranged marriage, his eyes revealed a faint trace of anticipation.
That secret organization he had been forced to join suddenly seemed far more tempting than before. It would definitely contain Awakened individuals from across the country, including powerful women.
If he could find suitable female Awakeneds with whom he could sleep with, he could accumulate the Desire Energy he needed far faster.
And if any of them possessed abilities worth copying, his Infinite Skill Absorption could potentially give him even more tools to grow stronger.
Alex’s gaze gradually sharpened.
At first he had originally viewed joining that organization as another troublesome obligation.
Now, he was actually looking forward to entering it. Because only with A Rank strength would he have the ability to bring both Nyx and Jade back home himself.