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“Prostrate before her and beg for her forgiveness until she forgives you, and I will retrieve my red notice to the public.”

“. . .” Ren thought that he had misheard him, but the seriousness on Serius’s face told him otherwise.

He really thought that Serius was a man with a heart of steel and ruled his kingdom with an iron fist. But just with a word from her daughter, he would retrieve what he had already said to the public. Him? A man whose words were law?

This ironed Ren’s belief that Serius didn’t take his group, World Conqueror, seriously. He didn’t take him seriously.

Ren would have preferred that he blackmailed him into joining Black Lion or even ask him to defeat a world boss and brought back rare items. At least, in that way, he acknowledge his power in the game.

But no . . . Serius was treating him as a joke. Someone whose fate was decided by his sixteen-year-old daughter. In his eyes, he was his daughter’s plaything and nothing more.

Ren should have expected that. Too bad. The fault was on him for expecting something more from Serius Alvarez.

Ren’s chuckle broke the stillness that fell between them for a brief moment. “I’m sorry. You see . . . I’m suffering from a stiff leg from kicking Black Lion’s ass in the Guild War. So pardon me if I can’t bend the knee.”

Lily almost fainted from shock and disbelief at Ren’s reply. And this was coming from her, a woman who barely felt any emotion.

This was the first time that Lily saw a man who was so defiant towards her father, and this put her in a good mood for some reason.

Her initial decision was to punish Ren and make him realize his place. But now . . . she wasn’t so sure what she wanted after witnessing his bout with her father.

The annoying man suddenly turned . . . manly in her eyes. And she thought that only her brother Scar was the alpha male around.

I want him. A voice whispered from the deepest corner of Lily’s mind.

This was the first time that she wanted a real person to belong to her list of collections. The first male who resisted her father. That had a nice label to it. Lily thought.

While Lily was basking in her dreamy thoughts with a deadpan expression, Serius threatened Ren.

“You sure are brave for someone so young just because you earned some money in a game. Let me tell you this. You’re nothing but a rat in the slums who turned so arrogant after snatching a bunch of scraps thrown in the side of the street.

“What you have is just a puny sum of what I own. I could easily snap it away with a simple call. Your career in the gaming industry, I can destroy it with that simple notice.”

Serius straightened his back, and he looked twice as intimidating as before. He then stared down at Ren under the bridge of his nose.

“Money is power, boy. And I have tons of it and connections accumulated throughout generations that you don’t have.”

Ren didn’t back down one bit, eyes never cowering with a face that never knew defeat. “In COVENANT . . . power is power.”

He then turned and walked towards the door, but with Serius voice, he skidded to a stop.

“Is that so? Let’s see who will win, then. But be warned. Once you walk out from that door, you’ll be back in the slums with nothing in your name. You have my word.”

“. . . And let me give you a warning,” Ren replied, didn’t bother to turn around. “If you don’t retrieve that notice before I return home, then I promise you . . . World Conqueror will never work with Black Lion, and Scar’s guild would never, EVER become number one.”

Ren’s words were met with mocking laughter as the door slowly closed behind his back.

—-

Inside Axes Tower, Ragnar was staring into his screen from day in and out. He was looking at his inventory in COVENANT with cloudy eyes and dreamy expression.

The [Evil Toothy Maw] was really a lifesaver, and all those troubles to get it was worth it in the end.

Reaching his hand, he sprawled it on the mask. If only he could wear it in the real world as well. Or he could have one made and display it in his room.

Ragnar was thinking of happy thoughts though his expression remained blank.

A phone call broke his dream-like state, and he was going to ignore it if only he didn’t see the caller flashing on his screen.

[Serius Alvarez]

What does he want?

Curious and out of respect, he immediately took the call. It wasn’t every day that he received a phone call from the current head of one of the most influential families in the world.

The last time he talked with Serius Alvarez was regarding Lily. Even though years had passed, the memory never failed to make him cringe in displeasure.

“Hello–” Ragnar hadn’t finished his sentence when he was interrupted on the other side.

“Ragnar, I know that a certain person named Ren is staying in your Diamond Palace. The one who came from the slums in Zone C.”

“. . .” Ragnar rubbed his head when he felt a headache coming along. Owning Diamond Palace was supposed to be a secret, but he guessed he couldn’t kept it a secret to the ultra-rich.

Ragnar sighed over the ceiling. Ren was really a magnet for trouble.

“Is this about what you posted online?” Ragnar asked.

“So you know?”

“I played COVENANT.”

“Good. This would make things easier. That guy, I want him out of your place. I’ll buy his unit, doubling its price even.”

“. . .”

“Mr. Alvarez, do you know what you’re asking of us?”

“I think it’s a simple thing to do.”

“Simple?” Ragnar released a steady stream of breath. “You’re practically telling us to sell our integrity which, for the record, is not for sale.”

“. . .”

When the other line didn’t speak, Ragnar continued, “Do you know that media is a scary thing nowadays? One wrong post and all our hard-earned reputation would crumble to dust.”

Serius sneered. “With a family as big and powerful as yours, no one would question your decision, and no one would bat an eyelid at your already well established reputation even if you kicked some unknown man out into the street.”

Ragnar massaged his temples when the old man didn’t get that he didn’t want to do it. He guessed the best way was still to tell him straight to his face.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Alvarez. But I can’t help you. Ren isn’t just someone. He is popular in COVENANT and that meant, popular in all corners of the world.”

“. . . You have already declined my daughter, Ragnar. Do you want our families to be enemies just because of a single person?”

“. . . As much as I held you in high regard, I don’t want to make an enemy out of Ren. COVENANT is the new world right now, and currently, he is amongst the top. If I were you, I wouldn’t antagonize him too much. He might blocklist you, which wouldn’t do well with Black Lion.”

“You think highly of him?”

“Let’s just say that I have my fair share of dealings with him in the game . . . and I will warn you now . . . Ren isn’t as ordinary as you think he is.”

Serius sneered. “What’s so amazing about a guy that came from the slums?”

“. . .” Ragnar was silent for a moment before he said seriously, “Trust me. I know.”

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