"How are you doing, mother?"


    The heat from the underfloor began to seep through his body while he cracked his neck, leaning to each side before cing the items he earned from the Arena and Tower on the table. A pleasant ck sounded as the ss vials tapped against each other.


    [I am feeling much better. Honestly, when you went into the tower, it felt like I was sleeping, a nostalgic feeling that I missed.]


    [Don''t you need to rush to meet Nikita?]


    ''Thankfully, I messaged her before the tower and she isn''t mad knowing where I was. Though probably because I am alone and sent her a picture she kept bugging me for.''


    [I don''t want to know...]


    ''...''


    Niki could only smile bitterlybefore using a smaller towel to dry his hair, which remained silver. He seemed to be mostfortable keeping his hair this colour recently.


    He looked at the pills and vials and thought to himselfabout how to use them; some of the ichor was from the dungeon, with three vials of ck ichor and therge blue potion. Then, the winning items from the gauntlet were ced to the side.


    ''I''ll give these to Sarah. When should I meet her?''


    [Wouldn''t those two girls get jealous if you don''t manage things properly?]


    "True... Mother, can you tell me about this blue potion and the notes I''ve written here? Can you give some feedback?"


    [Hmm, did you do some homework? Fufu, I''ll look now.]


    Her beautiful, ghostly pink figure floated to the table and began to readthe parchment. Niki opened the note function on theptop to the side, giving easy ess to her. While she inspected, he started to dress.


    It was a basic set: ck jeans and a navy blue jumper, along with an undershirt. He had many simr outfits because Sarah seemed to have bought several additional sets over the past few days. He didn''t notice the brand, but thefort and quality felt high. As long as he looked good and felt good, there were no issues.


    ''Well, I should probably teach her about this ce sometime, too. This ce is probably safer for her to visit or stay over than her current apartment.''


    Niki walked into the kitchen with a yawn and checked the clock. It was close to 5 PM, and the time limit for him to leave was near. ''Should I eat something, or just eat while out with Nikita?''


    He searched through the fridge and found several vegetables, milk and various meats. In the end, he took a red apple and returned to the main room, watching his mother''s ghostly figure reading the notes on the room''splimentaryptop.


    ''Well, it''s more of a phone pad, but the difference isn''t too big.''


    [Niki, you''re studying really hard. I am very pleased with you. As for your hypothesis about time, talent and bloodline, it is almostpletely correct. It''s strange but most monsters have a limit, but those are only those below royal blood. But even they will hit a limit after enough time.]


    ''Really? So, I might reach that stage if I''m alive long enough?''


    [Not at all—your hypothesis about your limits was correct. All the energy that you regained to be stronger made your body something quite special. It''s an almost unbreakable container now. I don''t think you will have a limit, but once you reach a certain amount. Of course, it will be difficult to grow stronger the more you grow without hard work.]


    ''That isn''t too bad, though. At least there will be some growth and not just stagnation. Thanks, mother.''


    Niki leaned against the sofa''s backrest and ate his apple. He wiped his mouth while looking at his phone, checking the time—since he didn''t want to be found by Ryan for a little while, he left the SSS contact phone in the trench coat item slot, stopping them from tracking him.


    The next moment, his phone vibrated.


    [From Nikita]


    Stupid Niki! We were meant to meet at 3 pm!


    Now it''s sote—why are you so cruel to me?


    Hurry! (Angry Cat Emoji)


    "This girl..."


    Niki smiled at her response before standing up. His clothes ruffled and settled, and his expression calmed before he put the pills and other items away into the trench coat pocket for safekeeping.


    The three ichor samples would be usedter for testing, or at least for Sarah. It would be a test of how much they helped her.


    He wore the trench coat because he found the military-style coatfortable and a little cool.


    ''It reminds me of my dad when I was a kid...''


    ''Why did my mom call him... that? I still don''t know why...''


    [With your hair that colour and that coat, you look like your father when I first started dating him... ah, so handsome.]


    ***


    Meanwhile, in the training centre of the SSS. Ryan stood up in disbelief—the device that would show the coordinates and movement of the watch showed nothing.


    ''Strange, why was thest known location of both Lisa and Niki the same location... and room?''


    After turning it off and on again several times, it seemed everything was normal for the other people in his team. However, after that night, when he let Niki vanish while drunk, Ryan didn''t see or hear from him after that.


    "I need to go... sorry, Commander."


    Ryan left and ran towards the exit without looking back. He wanted to prevent that devilish woman from damaging his best friend and causing his team to fall apart.


    ***


    In the central za of the city, Niki stood alone, looking at the clock. Cold air passed through his silver hair when leaning against the grey stones, his ck coat flowing behind him like an inky waterfall.


    "So slow..." Niki sighed while fidgeting. He held something small in his hands—a gift box wrapped in golden foil.


    ''I can''t believe I actually bought such an over-the-top thing...''


    Arge golden ribbon sat on the box in the shape of a bowtie and sealed it together.


    It wasn''t anything special, but a pair of snow-whitebat boots with ck highlights for Nikita, something he bought from the arena''s auction house using the money he earned, bringing his total coins down to 6,045.


    ''Well, the main reason I got them is because of their reinforced tips and heels—Nikita likes to fight with her legs more than punching.''


    ''I guess it''s not too bad, though...''


    Looking at the giant clock, there were only 30 minutes until the time he had told Nikita they would meet up. He ced the present on the stone podium beside him before stretching out his legs, which felt a little sore. He hoped she would arrive soon. Niki tried to make himself look as natural as possible. He began to whistle lightly as he waited.


    Even with him making such an obvious disy, many of the passers-by ignored him because, in truth, most humans weren''t excellent observers. However, there were a few young women who stopped for a moment to take a better look at his face and greeted him.


    A few minutes passed, and then his phone vibrated; pulling it out of his pocket, he saw there were new messages from Nikita.


    A secondter, however, the vibrating sound changed, showing someone calling. Seeing it was her, Niki immediately pressed answer and brought the device up to his ear.


    "THAT DAMN WOMAN IS HERE! HELP ME GET RID OF HER!" Nikita''s angry voice sounded like a kitten with their fur puffed up. However, a gentle and calm voice sounded when she took a deep breath.


    "Oh, my? Is that our fiancé? Shall we go and meet him? I cannot wait to see him."


    It was an elegant and polite voice, but it was Selene''s voice which caused Niki''s head to ache. Though they agreed on the situation, neither of them would shut up arguing when together. He really couldn''t be bothered by their constant bickering andpetition.


    ''Should I just go home and count my money? That seems less annoying...''


    [My son, you can''t keep avoiding them—after all, you''ve already done things beyond kissing. I don''t think either of them will let you weasel your way out of the rtionship anymore.] His mother spoke,ughing faintly.


    Niki could only sigh deeply as he heard Selene speak some nonsense about going to see her husband, but Niki didn''t have the effort to fight against the flow of fate any longer. Instead, he lowered his tone and just answered.


    "Both of you better get here before the clock hits the hour mark, or I''m going home." Without another word, Niki hung up, letting out another sigh.


    Not long after, two beauties appeared from the side of the street. One was short, and the other was tall—one was elegant and calm, whereas the other was quick-witted and fierce.


    ''Ah... they are really out of this world just from their looks...''


    Niki expected Nikita to take advantage, but before he realised. It was Selene who dashed forward and jumped at him with her arms open, embracing him.


    "My love, I am sorry for beingte—how can I make it up to you?" Shended in his arms gracefully as if it were nothing, clinging tightly to his chest.


    Her beautiful white dress fluttered elegantly in the wind along with her straight, shimmering golden hair and narrowed red eyes that gazed up at his face with an unfamiliar emotion from what he usually saw.


    "This cheating whore?! We promised not to run!" Nikita''s foul voice sounded from across the path. Many turned heads while she ran past with an awkward expression on her face—her face flushed with embarrassment and anger.


    As she came close enough to strike, Nikita swung her hand, but instead of hitting her lover, she moved her palm in front of Selene''s face and pushed her away, the face of Selene squished by the force.


    "Do we want to stay calm? I''ll beat you, damn thieving cat!" Nikita sounded like a thug as she took Niki''s left arm.


    "Ah~ Niki, she''s going to hurt me—please save me!" Selene hid in his right arm and buried her face in Niki''s chest while pulling out her tongue at the werewolf. It seemed the two were determined to give him a brain aneurism today.