Mike didn’t watch the rain of lightning for long.
With the dust settling from the battle, he had much to reflect on. Moreover, learning about the Supreme Demon God’s level 2000 strength had reignited his motivation to grow stronger.
Even with the extra ten years Shadow Nine had secured for him, Mike knew he’d have to face the Supreme Demon God head-on in no more than forty years. Of course, if there was a chance to take down the Supreme Demon God sooner by joining forces, Mike was all for it.
Returning to his dorm, a burly man adorned with bone ornaments had been waiting for a while.
“Fourth Bro, morning.”
“Shadow Three, morning.”
Their greetings lacked any real warmth.
Mike pulled up two stools, gesturing for Shadow Three to sit. “Shadow Nine sent you to protect me, didn’t he give any specific instructions?”
Shadow Three nodded, “He did.”
Mike was earnest, “I’d like to hear them.”
Shadow Three was even more earnest, “Shadow Nine said not to tell.”
That… Seeing the unyielding Shadow Three, Mike spread his hands, “Well, we need some guidelines for cooperation. Don’t you have anything to say on your own?”
Shadow Three thought for a moment, then nodded, “Yes.”
This time, without needing Mike to ask, Shadow Three took the initiative to explain, “I will intervene if anyone powerful attacks Thor. If someone attacks Mike, I won’t intervene.”
Mike frowned, puzzled, “Why would anyone attack me?”
In the earth, he was just a D-tier talent, a weakling. He managed to survive in the summer camp purely through shamelessness, not strength.
Shadow Three reminded him, “You forgot, after you went into the restroom today, you never came out.”
Mike fell silent. If he hadn’t drowned in a cesspit, he owed everyone an explanation.
Mike sighed and looked at Shadow Three, “So, what did Shadow Nine arrange?”
Shadow Three answered truthfully, “Shadow Nine had it spread around that you were favored by Ace. He helped with your Second Awakening of talent, which is why you were delayed and absent for a day.”
Ace, now seen by many as the [True Thor], and the idea of Thor helping Mike with a Second Awakening made sense. With the excuse of a Second Awakening, many of Mike’s current problems were neatly solved.
First, his talent could advance further, and displaying stronger abilities would be more believable.
Secondly, Ace covering for Mike’s identity made him [Thor]. Now, Mike was safe; no one would suspect him of being Thor.
Most importantly, from now on, whatever trouble or inexplicable situations Mike encountered, he could confidently pin them on Ace!
Although the 18-year-old Calderon was supposedly ‘killed’, a dead man could still be useful a few more times!
Of course, enjoying these benefits also meant Mike had to accept additional risks. A Second Awakening meant attracting more attention and standing out more.
Moreover, Mike also had a buff-[Favored by Thor]. This meant that while many wouldn’t dare target Thor directly, picking on Thor’s assistant was definitely fair game!
With things as they were, Mike had no other choice. “Alright, I understand now.”
In fact, Shadow Nine’s arrangement also had a bit of his own cunning. Mike was just too cautious!
Normally, a potential Supreme Being starts cautiously but soon enough shows their true capabilities.
Ares was already making waves at level 200, battling demon Lords on the battlefield.
If Shadow Nine hadn’t spread the word about Mike’s Second Awakening, Mike could have lived under the guise of a D-tier talent forever!
Overall, from Mike’s perspective, announcing his Second Awakening at this time was more beneficial than harmful. Otherwise, with his D-tier talent, achieving increasingly exaggerated victories would only draw more unnecessary attention.
Mike had thought through his strategies; there was nothing to fear now!
Mike casually asked, “Anything else?”
Shadow Three nodded honestly, “Yes.”
Mike: …
I should have kept my mouth shut!
“Shadow Nine asked you to take care of this one, to ensure his safety.”
As Shadow Three spoke, the dorm door was pushed open. A child holding a small pig walked
in.
Seeing Mike, Little Nine’s face lit up with joy, “Handsome, you’re back!”
Mike was about to rise and greet him when his smile suddenly froze. Following behind Little Nine, holding onto his sleeve, was a sullen-faced young man in black, looking as if someone had killed him in a past life.
All-American Boy version of Calderon!
Mike exclaimed, “You actually survived?”
Mike had never expected it. Calderon had kept a trick up his sleeve!
The sullen-faced Ace spoke up with a familiar tone and choice words, “Fuck you! You wanna
die?”
The pig held by Little Nine snorted.
Pig Vladimir: Fight! Fight!
Seeing the resurrected Ace, Mike was in a good mood. “Come on in, have a seat, why stand?”
Mike looked around his dorm, which had nothing but a bed and two chairs. “Look at how poor I am, I don’t even have anything to offer guests.”
“Just a sec, I’ll go fetch some water,” Mike said, picking up a basin to head out. With the rain pouring, he could collect a bit more.
Ace stood at the door, unmoved, still with a stern face. “I survived because the old guy didn’t throw that punch, and Little Nine couldn’t bear to let me die.”
Mike nodded, “I know.”
“And…” Ace paused, hesitating, “My condition seems a bit off.”
Mike continued nodding, “Yeah, I know.”
The air fell silent.
Ace knew the problem, Mike could ‘see’ the answer.
Want to know the answer? That’ll cost extra.
Clearly, after these days together, Ace had come to understand Mike’s true nature.
The silence didn’t last long. Ace turned and left, with Little Nine following him. In front of
Mike, Ace walked into the neighboring dorm and settled in.
Wait a minute!
Mike looked at the dorm room number, rubbing his eyes. “Wasn’t Cain my next-door
neighbor?”
Mike stood in the hallway, scanning all the dorms. He confirmed something.
This floor had gained an extra room, squeezed right between Mike and Cain. The size of each
room hadn’t changed, nor had the size of each floor.
That meant… the building had somehow squeezed in an extra room!
Maybe that’s just nature’s craftsmanship at its finest.
Mike muttered, “All this just to live next to me?”
Looking at his new neighbor, Mike fell into thought. He had noticed a few issues with Ace
during their brief encounter, and trouble wasn’t far behind.
Old Calderon, true to his nickname of ‘crazy old man’, had a mind that didn’t always work
right, daring to do anything!
The Calderon who hadn’t thrown that last punch had simply fed all the insights from that punch back into his will false body!
Little Nine had always stayed close to Ace. Little Nine had never wanted his brother Calderon
to die, and with the old Calderon’s help, Ace was revived with full health.
If it were just that, old Calderon’s actions wouldn’t be considered crazy. But old Calderon had
decisively split from his past self, dividing into two!
From then on, Calderon was Calderon, and Ace was Ace.
The Ace who appeared before Mike was a living person, level 300, 18 years old.
But this led to a new problem-Ace and Calderon had split, and their talents had reawakened!
Now, even Ace didn’t know what his talents were.