Chapter 179: Officially Becoming an Ascender [Part-1]

A few days had passed since Alen lived inside the Veridius mansion. The earlier damage inside the training ground was already cleaned up and repaired. It was not much of a big deal for a prestigious family like the Veridius; Sylvia only had to throw some of her money at the problem to get it repaired instantly.

Since the training ground had been repaired, Alen made it his primary spot to destroy—or more appropriately, to train in, as he was well famous for his nature as a training junkie. He didn’t waste his precious time in leisure. Every single day, he invested the maximum amount of time in training. Getting motivated by his hard work, even that lazy guy Azrael had started to join him in his training.

Even the red-haired girl, Leviya, started to keep her eyes on him constantly. Not because she had a crush on him, but because she desperately wanted to see through him.

Alen did not know what was so curious about him, except for his handsome face and immense charm.

In that time, he had already charmed several of the servants of the mansion. He did it deliberately. Not because he actually planned to seduce them, but because he just wanted to gather more information about the world. Even though he had visited the library and got quite a bit of information about the basics of the world around him, there were still many intricate things about Asterion which he wasn’t aware of yet.

The maids were the most useful source of information. Since they were always gossiping with each other, they held such a vast amount of information that even a normal noble wouldn’t have access to. On top of that, he could easily use his ’Charm’ to get the information from them. He wasn’t worried about them getting suspicious of him, as he could just manipulate their attention with a few sweet words.

He also found out the truth from the maids that Leviya and Azrael were actually an engaged couple. They were rumored among the public to be quite a perfect couple, sharing a playful nature. But after seeing both of them in closer terms, he found out that they were actually not on good terms with each other at all. The boy didn’t actually love her, but Alen could still sense some complex, hidden emotions swirling inside him. And as for the girl, she was hiding something big that even he didn’t actually understand much about. He could read their faces and expressions easily; with his skill ’True One’s Gaze’, he could see right through any of their facades. Of course, he couldn’t see their very deepest secrets, as they hid those well, but he could read them perfectly on the surface level.

He respected both of their decisions and didn’t point out the flaws to them. Why would he go around talking to people or solving their complex relationship issues? When he had his own massive problems to solve, he had enough of his own mysteries to resolve before deciding to help others.

After returning from his morning training earlier, he got news from a maid that some officials from the Association had arrived to register him officially as an Ascender. Alen immediately got ready, washing his sweaty body and wearing casual clothes to welcome the official.

In reality, he didn’t want to get registered in the Association at all. He was afraid that if they found him interesting, they might track him and monitor his growth. That was the last thing Alen ever wanted to face in his life—getting entangled in non-essential, political things.

They might ask him to join their organizations, or pressure him, forcibly granting him some high positions and heavy responsibilities. He didn’t want to save lives. He didn’t want to solve other people’s problems. He didn’t want to be sent into a war to protect a nation, and he didn’t want to rule over territories. He just wanted to live peacefully while walking on his own path. He wanted to think selfishly, live selfishly, and focus entirely on himself and his own happiness.

But the rumor among the Association may have already spread around the whole city about the large chaos caused by him, and how he solely fought against several Walkers all by himself. He was bound to get noticed by the Association. What he wanted to do now was just to act in complete contrast to what they expected of him.

If they found him acting smart and openly disobeying them, it would result in nothing but making them feel more interested in what he was exactly hiding. So, he planned to play with a totally different strategy today.

And that strategy is... to play dumb!

The doors of the training ground creaked open, and the long hallway stretched out. Alen stepped inside and saw two figures wearing black suits standing there. An official Association badge was hung on the right chest of their suits. They were conversing with Sylvia respectfully. He also noticed the engaged couple sitting quietly on a bench at the edge of the training ground, maintaining a respectable distance while focusing on different things.

Even many maids were present, standing there waiting eagerly to see him. As their gazes fell on him, everyone started to become excited and happy, and redness spread out across their faces.

’Shit, why is everyone present here as if some grand function is going to be celebrated here? Did I really come here to get registered, or to get into some massive trouble...’

While dismissing his worries internally, he stepped forward, entering the main field and walking confidently toward them. He wore his innocent facade, and a small, soft smile appeared on his face.

The conversation between the officials and Sylvia paused as they turned toward his incoming figure. One of the officers standing among them stepped forward with an analyzing gaze.

"So, you are the young one causing trouble around the city. Would you mind introducing yourself to us?..."

Alen stopped a short distance from them. He bowed slightly and spoke with an incredibly respectful tone.

"Hello, I am Alen. I recently climbed to become a Walker. I am so sorry about what happened around the city. I genuinely wanted to convince the guards about my identity, but the Association guards refused to listen to my excuses..."

He paused, looking down at his shoes. "Sorry. Since I am a boy who used to live in the slums from my childhood, I haven’t been able to learn much about the outside world. I have been clueless about many things around the world. I apologize for the trouble I caused. I will accept any punishment if the Association wants to give me one..."

He spoke with a soft, trembling tone which almost touched everyone’s heart. Well, almost everyone. There were still figures like Sylvia and the young couple who were perfectly aware of his true nature and behavior. They wore a surprised expressions, looking at his flawless acting.

’Hmph, it seems seducing—I mean conversing with the maids and getting information from them turned out to be useful. I got to know about places like the slums, which are secluded from the outside world even though they lie inside the cities. The streets and the area around it are so disgusting and dirty that no one ever thinks of roaming around the place. It is also the perfect hiding place for dangerous organizations living inside it, and the poorest people live there. It is the perfect alibi.’

Both the officers looked at each other, not quite able to believe his excuse.

"Well, what proof do you have that you came from the slums? Your face tells me a completely different story..."

Alen narrowed his eyes as he lifted his head up. Wearing a small, sad smile, he answered.

"Well, I lost my memories just recently during my first trial inside the Ascension Realm. I don’t remember much about my past, as I lost most of my memory, but recently I remembered fragments of memory of me living inside the dirty slums..."

They looked at him with a disbelieving gaze. Logically speaking, It was a good story. Forgetting a memory and not remembering anything were simply easy words to say. But actually believing it from the guy who had spread a massive mishap around the city was not possible.

Alen didn’t look disappointed as he continued.

"If you don’t believe me, then you could confirm it with people like Clara Estera, the principal of the Asterion Academy. She was the first person I met after losing my memory... I met her in order to learn about the world, as I forgot everything and even my own memories. You can also investigate it with the policeman called Kailas; you will learn about that truth from him..."

The front officer’s eyes widened in surprise as he heard the Principal’s name. They were well aware of her reputation. They knew she had the ability to see right through people’s faces and find the deepest truths they were hiding. If that powerful person hadn’t acted against him yet, then it meant ultimately he was telling the truth. He nodded to his companion to confirm it, as they couldn’t just blindly trust a suspect.

The back officer walked back a few steps, pulling out his phone as he called the Association office to get in direct contact with the principal. After some time passed and he conversed with the principal, he finally put his phone back in his pocket. He walked back toward them with a nod.

"Yeah, what he says is true. He had gone to the Asterion Academy and told her that he lost his memory in his first trial. It confirms the truth..."

Alen nodded innocently. All of his bluffing actually worked. He just logically joined his network of connections and the lies he had spilled in front of those people. Ultimately, he just added more lies in order to make it look flawlessly logical. He was always good with logical things.

The other guard nodded, and they turned toward him simultaneously.

"So, Mr. Alen. I apologize for the inconvenience caused by us and our officers. If you don’t mind it, we can start the official registration process right now..."

Alen nodded without saying a single word, as he was already waiting for it to be over.

The officer nodded as he lifted his briefcase. He opened it to get a small, slim box out.

Alen looked at it curiously, but it didn’t take long for him to learn what exactly it was as his face suddenly turned pale. The officer held a sharp syringe containing a greenish liquid. The sight of it made him feel cautious, even more cautious than an actual deadly poison.

"What the fu—I mean, what is this thing?"