“Ow, ow, ow!”

Miko exclaimed while touching the side of his head that was hit by Momo’s last punch.

“Shit, it hurts!"

“It should hurt after getting half your face buried by a fist.”

Momo said, while giving him a block of ice she created by magic.

“So, how does it feel to be defeated?”

She asked with a smile.

“It’s sucks.”

Miko replied.

“And hurts like hell too.”

Momo laughed when she heard that.

“Good. Now you should realize the gap between us.”

She said proudly.

“The age gap?”

Miko said.

“Do you want another punch?”

Momo asked with a terrifying expression.

“Ouch.”

Miko ignored her and placed the ice on his swollen face.

“Can’t you just heal me up with one of your spells?"

“Nope. I want you to fully experience defeat, that naturally means the scars that come with it.”

Momo said.

“Tsk.”

Miko wasn’t pleased by her reply, but he didn’t complain.

‘I was totally defeated….’

He thought to himself.

‘I came at her with everything I got, and in the end, I wasn’t able to scratch her.’

He started to clench his fist.

‘Momo isn’t even in the top 100 in the clan, and I’m this powerless against her? Then how would I fare against people like my grandfather, who stands at the top?’

He gritted his teeth.

‘I probably wouldn’t even survive the pressure from his spirit alone.’

He thought.

“I’m weaker than I thought.”

“Yes, yes you are.”

Tia answered his mutter.

“But that’s only to be expected. You’re only a 16 year old child after all. You have a long life in front of you, and many things to experience.”

She said.

“Not to mention, many people to meet.”

“So you’re saying I’m weak because I’m young?”

Miko asked.

“I can’t accept that reason.”

He replied.

“I’m weak, because I allow myself to become weak.”

He shook his head.

“No, I wasn’t strong in the first place.”

“Then become strong.”

Momo said.

“The best thing about being weak is that you can become stronger.”

She said.

“You make it sound simple.”

Miko said.

“But you’re right. I’ve been looking at this the wrong way.”

He stood up.

“If I truly want to become the supreme being then I must become far stronger than even I can imagine. I must destroy the common sense and become the supernatural.”

He said.

“And the first thing I must do to achieve that is to sleep.”

“Huh?”

Both Momo and Tia were confused by what Miko said.

“Wait a minute. Did you just say sleep?”

Miko nodded with a determined look.

“What about all that talk about becoming stronger? Why is the first thing on your list is sleeping?!”

Momo asked.

“Because sleep trumps all. All living things need to sleep to grow, it’s the natural order of things.”

Miko declared boldly.

“Eat, Sleep, Repeat! This ensures one have a healthy life!”

“No, what about training?!”

“Yeah, I’ll put that in there somewhere.”

Miko said as if he was talking about a chore.

“Hahahaha! This kid is a riot!”

Tia laughed.

Momo on the other hand could only sigh.

“Now if you excuse me.”

Miko suddenly leaped into the air and landed on a tree branch and sat down. He immediately crossed his arms behind his head, and closed his eyes as he leant on the tree and closed his eyes.

“Ah~.”

Momo released a long sighed when she saw that.

“I guess it was a failure. People don’t change that easily after all.”

She said.

“No.”

However, Tia disagreed.

“Miko might be acting the same, but his mindset is now completely different.

She spoke with a smile.

“Right now all he’s thinking about is how to be stronger, even in his sleep.”

“Huh?”

After hearing what Tia said, Momo looked at Miko who looked like he was peacefully at sleep.

Inside of Miko’s subconscious.

“Hahahaha! You got wrecked!”

Miko was standing before a silhouette of himself, that was laughing so hard that it had to hold its stomach.

“Shut it. I know that without yo telling me.”

Miko replied in an irritated tone.

“Now, now. There’s no need to get mad. We lost, but we can still get stronger just like Momo said.”

Said the Silhouette.

“That’s easier said than done.”

Miko replied.

“What’s this? Aren’t you the guy that said that he will seek out domination? Why are you getting cold feet so early in the game?”

The silhouette mocked.

“Who’s getting cold feet? I’m just stating the obvious. The reason why we lost is simple. We didn’t work hard enough to win.”

“What are you talking about? We didn’t do any work at all. Besides, I thought we were allergic to work.”

The silhouette took out a pill bottle.

“I even went to the doctor to have him prescribe me some meds.”

He shook the bottle and said.

“I’m being serious here.”

“So am I. I paid good money for this.”

Said the silhouette.

He then threw the bottle away.

“All jokes a side. I agree that we didn’t put in the work needed to defeat someone like Momo. We’ve been surviving off of talent and previous work, these last few years.”

He said.

“We’re not even that talented in the first place. So us losing is a given.”

Miko nodded in agreement.

“I guess that means that we have to start working hard again.”

The two sighed at the same time.

“To be honest, I think this will be a pain in the ass.”

Said Miko.

“Same here. But we gotta do it. We’ve already stepped into the world of proxies. If we have to do it for anything, then we should at least do it for our survival.”

Said the silhouette.

“It isn’t just us. The proxy wars are extremely cruel. It’s normally for a proxy’s allies to suffer a miserable fate after they fall.”

Miko said.

“If we fall, all who we care about will fall with us.”

Silhouette nodded.

“I guess we can’t afford for that to happen huh?”

Miko nodded.

“It’s really going to be a pain, but we have no choice but to return to the spartan of old.”

Meanwhile, Tia and Momo was watching Miko sleep.

“Hey, Momo.”

Tia called out to Momo.

“Honestly speaking, do you think Miko has what it takes to become #1?”

She asked.

“Without a doubt.”

Momo answered immediately.

“Because he’s talented?”

Tia asked. Momo shook her head.

“In my opinion, Miko isn’t that great of a genius. Gramps even said that I was way more talented than him.”

Momo answered.

“But he also said that Miko will surely surpass me despite that. The reason being that when he puts his mind to something, he’ll do it no matter the cost.”

Momo smiled.

“In other words, he has an iron will.”

She said.

“I agree with him. I’ve watched Miko went through some experiences that would break the average person ten times over, but he’s still standing and laughing. Even though it wouldn’t be strange if he had committed suicide, he’s still living.”

Momo showed a gentle smile.

“I love that part of him. Just seeing him struggle like that, made me muster the will to push through my troubles and overcome my weaknesses.”

She then said-

“In my eyes, Miko is my ideal self.”

“Hahahaha!”

Tia laughed when she heard that.

“It would be better if you don’t tell him that directly, it will go to his head.”

“I guess you’re right.”

Momo laughed as well.

“In order to become the Supreme Being, you must be acknowledged by all as the superior king that deservers to stand above everything else.”

Tia said.

“We higher beings are proud beings, especially the gods. We won’t normally bow our heads to anyone. If Miko wants to reach the top, he won’t only have to surpass all the proxies in the world, he’ll have to make everyone yield before him, including gods. That by itself, sounds impossible.”

Tia smiled.

“But I believe Miko can do it.”

She said.

“I believe that he desires it more than anyone else, and is willing to walk through the nine hells to do it.”

“I think so as well.”

Momo said beside her.

Tia nodded and looked at Miko again.

‘Something is bugging me though.’

She thought to herself.

‘Why does it feel like there’s more than one Miko in that body?’

She looked at him with more interest and wonder.

“Just what are you really?”