Ethan walked into Snow's 5-star restaurant. As expected, the moment he entered, he saw first-class elites filling the place. Walking toward the main entrance, Ethan bought two tickets and handed them to the guard.
"I have a guest, one Mr. Freddy Charlton," Ethan said coolly.
The guard bowed and opened the front door for Ethan to enter.
As he set foot into the building, numerous eyes scanned him—mostly from females.
"Gosh, look at his skin," a gorgeous girl said as she walked up to Ethan.
"Na, sorry, gotta pass. You're not my type," Ethan replied, grabbing a cocktail from a passing attendant.
"Sorry to disappoint," the girl muttered, backing off.
Ethan walked straight to the VIP zone. Someone scoffed, seeing him in casuals heading toward the section.
"Hey, deuce, are you a bartender? Fetch me a drink!" a tall guy with handsome features snapped.
Ethan turned around and scanned the guy. "Sorry, but I came here to relax. I don't want any trouble."
"Yeah, there won't be any trouble if you fetch me a drink, deuce," the guy retorted angrily. His rich friends turned their eyes toward Ethan.
Ignoring him, Ethan continued into the VIP zone. The guy grew pissed and lunged at him, trying to shove him to the ground.
But he was shocked. He was an awakened with strength at 45, yet this man didn't budge. Ethan's once beautiful blue eyes turned sharp and dangerous.
"You sure have balls, young rich kid."
[You have successfully activated
[The enemy feels fear and pressure from you]
Immediately, the guy's body turned weak. He looked at Ethan as if facing an unsurpassable mountain.
His friends sighed and quickly stepped in. "Sorry, dude. Brent here is a rude guy. We apologize for the disturbance," one of them said—a cheerful young man with black hair.
"No need. Just a little mistake. Gentlemen, enjoy the evening," Ethan said, raising his cup.
They apologized again and dragged Brent away.
Finally finding peace, Ethan entered a secluded room that he had booked with his ticket. Scanning his phone, he saw the endless buzz surrounding the street character known as Blur.
"I really said that name was lame," Ethan sighed.
Twenty minutes later, Freddy arrived, shortly followed by Gloria.
"Did you start the party without me?" she teased.
"Relax, girl, everyone just got here," Freddy said, grabbing a grape cocktail.
By this time, Ethan had already filled the table with top-notch dishes.
"This one's nice. I heard it originated from Planet Earth itself," Freddy said, gobbling it down.
"Cool," Ethan muttered, trying some for himself.
"So what's up? Let's cheer to us being newly awakened," Gloria said, pouring beer into a fancy cup.
"Cheers!" Everyone raised their cups.
After a while, the three sat down to talk.
"No way, Freddy, you've already awakened?" Ethan asked.
"Yes, of course. I'm a shadow aspect user now," Freddy said.
"Woah, that's cool as hell. Isn't that an assassin-type aspect?" Ethan said, baffled. In his last life, Freddy had been a wind-type aspect user. Strange.
"Congratulations, friend," Gloria said, raising her cup.
"Thanks for the flattery," Freddy grinned.
"I say, I've got a special gift for my buddy. I also know a shadow-type assassin technique called Ghost Phantom. Are you willing to learn it?" Ethan asked. Of course, it was a technique from his past life, but one useless to him now.
"Woah, don't tell me it's an A+ technique?" Freddy asked.
"Of course. Why would I give my buddy a low-rank technique?" Ethan smirked, sipping his wine.
Freddy looked down. "Thanks, buddy. I'm broke at the moment—I can't even afford a C-rank technique." He chuckled.
"Of course. What are friends for?" Ethan replied.
Gloria looked at Ethan and said, "Don't hype him too much. He'll get full of himself."
"Damn you, rich girl. How dare you spoil my moment," Ethan thought, coughing inwardly.
"Well, if that's settled, let's move on to the next phase of our lives. What do you say?" Gloria asked.
"Well, I'm joining the military," Ethan said.
"That's cool. I just got drafted into the top military academy," Gloria said proudly.
"Eh, look who's full of herself," Ethan chuckled as he tore into a soft, succulent fruit.
"Too bad I won't be joining you. Seems our contract is already terminated before it even began," Ethan teased.
"Says who? I asked my dad to draft two more people," Gloria snapped.
Ethan stayed silent for a moment before replying, "Fine then, but thousands are planning to join. With my common aspect, I'm afraid I'll be disqualified at the entrance." He pretended to look sad.
"Gosh, this guy is cunning," Gloria thought, eyeing Ethan.
"Freddy, what do you say we go to the same military academy?" Ethan said, glancing at Gloria.
"Sure, anything for my bro," Freddy nodded.
"What do you know how much my father paid? Damn you, Ethan!" Gloria shouted.
"Anyway, if I could get one person to come with me, I wouldn't need you. In fact, this person is said to be the strongest awakened on Planet New Eden," Gloria said smugly.
"And who is that?" Freddy asked.
"Please, not again," Ethan groaned inwardly.
"His name is Blur—the guy who took down that deathly being with ease. I'm sure he's a youngster who wants to join the army. Once I set eyes on him, I'll pay him 1 billion Ace Coins to join me," Gloria said proudly.
Ethan choked. "1 billion? Damn… all I need to do next is take a trip to Planet Helios," he thought, looking at Gloria. His view of her changed. To casually toss out 1 billion? Ethan now saw Gloria as an ATM waiting to be robbed.
"As if he'd even bat an eye. Judging from his skills, he should be a first-class rich kid whose father probably owns a low-tier planet. I suggest you raise it to 300 billion Ace Tokens to lure him in," Ethan said calmly, sipping lemon juice.
"Eh, true. But first, I need to see my competitors. I'm sure I'm not the only one with eyes on him," Gloria said.
"Sweet, then I can follow you to your academy. What's the name?" Ethan asked.
"Helios Academy."
Immediately, Ethan and Freddy spat out what they had just taken.
"What?!" they both echoed.