‘Huh? Is this guy good in the head?!’

Lydus was deeply shocked upon seeing Simon’s actions. And... after his shock, came rage!

As the renowned heir to the Utopis company, and as a man blessed with intelligence and good looks, he had never faced such an embarrassing situation in his thirty years of life. This was a blatant slap to the face! If he didn’t teach Simon a lesson immediately, he would surely become a laughingstock.

Plus, even if one didn’t know of his identity, his aura should have at least deterred any reasonable person… and yet, this man completely ignored him.

“Where do you think you’re going? Do you really want to make an enemy of I, Lydus Lucus?!” he angrily exclaimed with a dark expression at Simon’s back.

At this moment, Ludovicus, who was still stiff from shock, quickly awoke from his stupor.

“F*ck, Quick! Apologize to him. It’s for the best, his influence is enough to reside in a building in the core of the city! You don’t have to worry about me.” he hurriedly whispered into Simon’s ear with a pale expression.

“Oh?” Simon indifferently turned to Lydus. “You say you want to make an enemy of me with your capabilities? Go ahead and try. Unfortunately, I fear that you lack the qualifications to do so.”

Then, he turned away and continued walking.

“...”

After these casual, yet thundering words were uttered, Lydus was stunned silent and he even wondered if he were hallucinating.

Meanwhile, Ludovicus felt his head going faint, and any passersby who had arrived due to the commotion likewise unhinged their jaws at this scene.

After a moment of silence, the venue burst into commotion.

“Crap, who is this guy?!”

“Crazy! He’s definitely crazy!”

“It’s over for him. Among the younger generation, Lydus is practically unmatched in influence!”

This time, Lydus was so mad that he didn’t bother with talking to Simon. Instead, he left without saying another word.

…

As Ludovicus walked away with Simon, he was feeling somewhat fearful and simultaneously, touched.

“I appreciate what you’ve done but… There’s no way that he would let this matter rest so easily. You really have to be careful, the influence that he wields is by no means untenable. He’s the heir to the Utopis company and the most talented junior member of the Lucus Family!” Ludovicus warned Simon nervously.

“You’re worrying too much! Let’s see if he dares to send people after me. As for rescinding my membership of the research school? I’d like to see him try!” Simon said with a scoff, waving his hand in a carefree manner.

At these words, Ludovicus felt like he was going crazy by talking to a brick wall.

“Anyways, what is the source of this enmity between you two?” Simon asked curiously.

Ludovicus sighed and responded ruefully, “Heh. It’s quite ridiculous, but I suppose you should know.”

He then helplessly shook his head and began recounting the tale. “My family and his, the Lucus Family, were longtime rivals. Our families were never at the same level of influence in the first place, as we were only shareholders of a couple major corporations, while theirs completely owned Utopis and had shares in many other companies as well.”

“Maybe in the past it was different, but within the last generations, the gap between our families have only widened.”

“Moreover, in recent years, our family’s fortunes began dwindling as many companies whom we were shareholders of began failing, while Utopis was as towering as ever. Not to mention, I am merely a member of an offshoot of the family, while Lydus is one of the members of the main lineage, whose talent is considered the highest in the entire family!.

“So naturally, when we pursuited the same partner, and when I won her favor, Lydus made a big show of it, suppressing my family further until I gave up pursuing her.” he finished with a bitter laugh.

“Ah, so that’s it.” Simon nodded, feeling that it was rather silly. “But that makes me curious, who is this person who is capable of inciting Lydus to suppress your family?” Simon asked, his interest piqued.

Ludovicus nodded, saying, “Her name is Cania, and her appearance is peerless and her intelligence is worthy of praise. However, more importantly, her family is even more impressive than the Lucus Family. As a result, the Lucus family wishes to have Lydus take her hand in marriage. That is why they were willing to take such drastic measures in ensuring their marriage.”

“However, she refuses to take Lydus’s hand as she doesn’t like his temperament, and unlike him, she has plenty of options who would be a better choice. As a result, Lydus still holds it against me and makes sure to give me as hard a time as possible.” he finished helplessly.

“Ah...” Simon nodded in acknowledgement. He could tell that Ludovicus was of good character, and that he had told the truth, so he was assured of his words. Moreover, this was a typical situation in his past life as well, so he most certainly understood it.

“So my point still stands! He can try suppressing me all he wants. After all, I am merely accompanying you for a day, he shouldn’t take it too seriously. Whatever he sends should be no problem for me to deal with.” Simon said, unfazed in the slightest.

At this point, Ludovicus could only shake his head. He no longer tried to convince Simon.

However, what he did not know was that... Simon’s lack of concern for Lydus was truly justified.

After all, he was a mage who was nearing the seventh star core level of insight in the past, with incomparably pure mana and bountiful combat experience to complement his strength. Even if he was currently far from invincible, his strength was easily enough to deal with a mere Utopis company!

Not to mention, in this day and age, regulations on items such as guns and explosions were much more strict in the various large cities, such as the city where he lived in and Veracity City. As a result, he did not need to fear technology all that much.

Thus, he had no need to fear a physical assault.

As for rescinding his membership of the school?... That would be just as useless as physical assault!

After all, he had the same status as the damn headmaster! Even if Lydus was backed by a large company who qualified to have its leadership reside in the core zone of the city, the owners of the city - the Veracity Team - would have no need to put even the CEO of the company in their eyes, let alone the mere heir to the company.

However, in truth, the reputation of the Utopis company was fairly widespread, so even Simon knew of the company; they were a reputable real-estate company that was in the top 500 internationally.

But even so, they really couldn’t compare to the mysterious Veracity team, which had the qualifications to partner with the world’s most influential organization by far - the Gamer’s Truth organization.

And so, despite Ludovicus’s warnings, they went on to view several buildings that were up for rent or sale.

…

At this moment, six burly men hid within a building, staring at a pair of figures disembarking a car.

All six of these men had terrifying and imposing auras, and one could distinctly feel the sensation of bloodlust and danger from them. If a normal person were here, they would have long since ran away.

“Target sighted. As planned, they’re going in.” One of them spoke quietly into a hidden mic.

“Good. Notify me with the result as soon as it’s done.” the voice on the other side ordered with a firm tone.

“Of course, you don’t have to worry. It shouldn’t take long” the man said, the edges of his mouth curving upwards slightly as he looked at the two men entering the building.

“Very well. I will await the good news.” the voice on the other side finished, before disconnecting the call.

“Boys, let's get into position!” the man then beckoned to his colleagues and began moving out.

The mercenaries were in a rather pleasant mood. After all, to simply deal with these two ordinary looking men, they were getting paid a million F-Creds.

Even to them - battle hardened mercenaries, such a deal was hard to get. Usually, only by targeting bigshots with preventative measures put in place would such a price be achievable.

…

“So this is the third compound, priced at 11 billion F-Creds, huh!” Simon said as he glanced at the towering black building in front of him.

“Yep, it’s actually the second most expensive one available in the entire city when not counting properties in the core zone. Unfortunately, the price tag of 11 billion is simply too distant.” Lydus sighed as he stared at the magnificent and imposing pitch black skyscraper.

“Mm well, I think it's still worth checking out.” Simon said with a nod as they entered.

‘Eh?’ Suddenly, he noticed a faint killing intent on his back as he entered the building. Turning slightly, he noticed the gaze of six figures.

‘Hmph. He’s finally made a move.’ Simon thought, smiling inwardly. Then, they continued inward.

This compound was originally designed to be a gaming compound for one of the largest esports teams internationally - Bonestand. However, with the introduction of Island Ascension Online, they recently moved out to an even better facility after a round of investments and growth, rendering their old compound temporarily ownerless.

Even so, this compound could not be underestimated. If one had to say which organizations had the most influence on the planet after Gamer’s Truth, it would undoubtedly be the various top esports teams, research teams, and the largest corporations.

Thus, all of the facilities within this compound were top of the line and up to date. The organization even generously left a few exclusive Gaming Cabins, each worth at least 100 million F-Credits for the next owners. Without question, if he were to receive this compound, Simon would be satisfied with its quality.

Soon enough, Simon and Ludovicus walked into a large auditorium filled sparsely with other guests who had also come to visit. Upon entering this room, Simon suddenly felt multiple watchful gazes from all directions.

‘Mm. So this is it, huh.’ he thought amusedly. There were currently six people with various handheld weapons hiding around within this auditorium.

Immediately, he silently began casting a spell that was famed as the strongest tier two assassination spell in his past life - Myriad Shards of Light!

He did not use a single movement, and yet, the spell was being completed at a shocking speed.

‘Release!’

Just a moment later, five nearly imperceptible flashes of light shot from Simon’s body and to various positions within the auditorium...

By the time the soundless ordeal was over, no one had noticed any change, with the exception of the one surviving mercenary.

…

A fierce looking middle aged man covered with scars - which proved his years of service - was alertly staring at the entrance of the auditorium.

Suddenly, seeing a pair of men walk in, his gaze grew sharp.

‘This is it.’ he thought with a hint of anticipation; the targets had finally arrived!

However, before he could so much as make a single move, he faintly noticed a flurry of light emerging from the primary target. At the same time, the green lights which represented the status of his colleagues all turned red!

“What?! Impossible!” his eyes bulged as he ducked into cover, incomparably shocked.

After all, five of his comrades - whom he had shared many battles with - had instantaneously died, just like that! And though he didn’t wish to believe it, he knew that he had no choice but to act quickly.

The man was no fool and had a sharp perception; that much was a requirement for his job. Naturally, he had noticed the cause of their deaths.

Indeed, it was the seemingly ordinary looking man who was casually walking around!

“F*ck!” he cursed and hurriedly pulled out his mic after getting over his shock.

“What’s going on? You should be in the middle of an operation now, right?” the voice on the other side said with a hint of impatience.

“Operation?! More like a f*cking suicide mission! The information that the contractor provided is completely false, the man is a mage! The strongest one that I’ve ever seen at that, he instantly killed the o-”

Suddenly, his words got caught in his mouth as he promptly fell down, a hole blasted into his head.

“What?! Are you here? Hello?! Hello?! What happened, is what you’re saying true?!” the voice yelled from the other side of the call.

But alas, a reply would never come.