" James Ovens "

Hearing the name, Max's laughter ceased.

He frowned heavily. No matter how much he thought he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. That evil bastard who killed Axel's brother was now acting warm hearted and spirited.

Did he have a sudden change of heart?

Obviously not!!

He wouldn't believe it even if someone was to beat him to death. Then the only other thing that he could think of was... this bastard was planning something.

" What's wrong? Get in the car."

August's voice jolted Max out of his thoughts. He suddenly realized that he was out of the Academy. He looked at August who was standing in front of a cab.

" How are we going to Orena? ", Max asked as he got into the car.

August followed him in as he spoke, " If it weren't for you, we would have been able to board the armored vehicle of the Academy. But now, I think we would need to go through the station and look for transportation along the border."

" Won't we be late for the event? ", Max asked in concern.

" Whose fault is it? Hmph! …", August gave him a scornful look before continuing.

" We will be late. But the competition lasts for 3 days. I think if we can quickly get a transport vehicle along the border, we will be late by 7-8 hours at most."

….

Few hours later…

The sun was setting and the sky had turned red.

Max and August walked out of the station. They had finally reached the border city.

Max could clearly see a lot of armed people rushing back and forth. This place didn't have a peaceful feeling like Arcane. Max could smell the scent of gunpowder and blood which filled the air.

" Let's go and search for a transport vehicle. The training event would be taking place 300 Km from the border towards the east. Let's go towards the east gate. If we could not find any vehicle, we shall take an inn and search tomorrow morning.", August said while taking the lead.

Max nodded. But the moment he took a step, a screen flashed before his eyes.

« Demonic aura detected...»

« Initiating quest...»

« Quest : Mission Series : Investigate and stop the Demons »

« Traces of demonic aura had been detected in the vicinity. Investigate the cause and stop the demons »

« Rewards : • 30000 FP

•6 x Recovery Pill. »

Seeing the screen, Max's face turned dark and his face twitched. He couldn't help mutter.

' Talk about bad timing.'

He could only hope that nothing big would happen and the demons were only here for a stroll.

Even though he tried to convince himself, he still felt his heart getting heavy. After all, his friends were there.

Max and August finally reached the east gate. They walked for a bit and finally saw a vehicle but the man refused to venture into Orena since it was already getting late not to mention they had to travel 300 km.

There weren't any drivers who were willing to take them into Orena at this hour.

" Let's go and find an inn. We will have to travel tomorrow morning.", August sighed and turned around.

But after taking a step, he noticed that Max hadn't taken any step. He was still standing there with his eyes wide open.

August couldn't understand why Max was staring at the driver like that. Even the driver was feeling creeped up.

Max was shocked but it was only because of the screen which had flashed once again leaving him dumbfounded.

« Average Man : House of Ovens is the one who is most likely colluding with the Demons »

Even though Max didn't know about the names of all the 12 Noble houses, he obviously knew that the noble house who had led the Guild Union was the House of Oven.

He couldn't help but curse in his mind. If the Ovens really did collude with the demons then it was obvious that his friends might be in danger.

After all, It was James, that bastard who supported this trip. Could it be the sudden change was all caused by him? If Max's conjecture was right then something big might happen.

" Give me the keys.", Max looks at the driver.

" What? ", the driver looked at Max in confusion.

" Give me the f*ck*ng keys!! "

Max grabbed the man by his collars and lifted him up.

Seeing the man struggling, Max revealed a bit of his killing intent scared the man into submission.

" Max!! Stop it!! ", August yelled.

By this moment, Max realised that he might have gone overboard on a bystander. But he didn't have time to care about it.

He snatched the keys from the man's trembling hands before taking out a red crystal from his inventory and tossing it out to the man.

" What are you doing? ", August grabbed Max by his shoulder.

" I have to go. My friends are in danger.", Max looked at August and said seriously.

" Even if there is some problem. There are a lot of experts which the Academy has requested from the Association to protect the students. You don't need to worry.", August replied.

" If you want to come then tag along. If not scram! ", Max didn't even want to wait for a second longer.

August's face twitched but he realised that if he were to stop Max right now, it would definitely lead to an all out fight.

Even though August didn't know why Max felt the way he did. He didn't ask it after all, if Max wanted to say it he would have already said it in the beginning.

He could only let out sigh before getting in the vehicle. He did not want to get into a fight, as it would affect the Academy's reputation.

As for the matter of stealing, the red crystal that Max had tossed out earlier could probably allow the guy to buy a brand new vehicle with better performance.

Max stepped on the gas paddle and the engine roared before speeding up and disappearing in the distance.