Will You Leave Like A Coward?

Leaving the Blue Eagle's dorms, Ryan headed back to his own.

He checked his heavenly screen and saw that his cultivation rank had risen from 15% at F-Rank to 23% from his enhancement sessions with Mara and Avery.

Thinking about Avery, he wondered if she would be a good addition to his harem but didn't know enough about her.

It was possible she was a good fit for group 4, helpful with loyalty.

But only time would tell.

Helpful with loyalty not only meant they were loyal, but they also had to be helpful in gaining others' loyalty.

On earth, Aliza would say group four was to find potential people that qualified for the other groups.

They were his recruiters in that sense but more so served to bring the loyalty of the group up.

Even though they might not be the best in wealth or strength, they brought to the table the undying devotion that was infectious to others.

It's the feeling people get when someone in the room has a contagious laugh. Shortly, smiles start to appear, then chuckles, and everyone soon finds themselves laughing.

The sisters he now knew fell into groups two and three.

Helpful with power and information.

They qualified for group two based on their ability to cultivate and their royal bloodline.

But even if they didn't have a royal bloodline, it didn't matter. He could make them strong.

They got extra points for allowing him to join the royal family, although he didn't know how useful his new tattoo would be.

They qualified for group three not only because Ryan was desperate for any information but also because they were another race and likely had access to different types of knowledge.

There were different types inside each group, for instance, individual power vs. a group's power.

Even if Lizzy or Izzy couldn't cultivate, they could still qualify for group two based on their ties to a royal family. The same was true for information.

The sisters might have some information networks, but right now, all he knew was that they contained more information than him. Who knows what hidden knowledge their demon brains contained? Heck, he just learned that they were royalty, and now they were asleep for two weeks.

'I'm going to have a good long talk when those two wake up.'

Arriving in front of his room, Ryan walked in and sat on the couch.

Looking at the coffee table right in front of him, he saw a note which had "Ryan" written in bold on the top.

Picking it up, he was flabbergasted when he read the contents.

"Ryan, somethings come up at home. I don't know when I'll be back. - Mara."

Ryan tried contacting her on the wristband, but he got an automatic response that stated she wasn't on campus. Thus, the message couldn't be delivered.

"And just like that, I'm all alone again." Ryan sighed, checking on the girls who were still unconscious before going to his room for some shut-eye.

===

"Abby! Have you dug up anything on that boy's real identity yet?" Mila said while looking towards her older sister, Abby.

Abby's smile turned mischievous as she tucked a piece of red hair behind her ear.

"I don't know which boy you're referring to, sis."

Seeing Mila's blank look, Abby pouted, "Humph, you're no fun. At least pretend to play along."

She said, crossing her arms under her gigantic milkers.

"It's been three weeks. Can the 'black-cloaked queen' really not get any information?"

Abby scowled, "I did get information. It only came in today, however."

"He appeared at the hub, and a rumor spread about him being unconscious due to First Lieutenant Valeria squeezing him."

"Though that rumor was disproven by some leaked documents," Abby said, looking disgruntled.

"But there's a different rumor that was started circling just recently, so I haven't been able to validate it."

"Oh? What is it?" Mila asked, looking curiously at her sister. These past three weeks, she had been out of her mind with anxiety due to what happened with Anthony.

She felt like the whole experience was a dream. If her sister hadn't said he had called her Little Angel, she would have convinced herself she had made it up.

'What if it really is him?'

'But why didn't he have any scars?'

Abby paused and looked at her sister seriously, "Like I said, I don't know if this is true."

Nodding, Mila said, "Don't worry, I understand."

"Rumor has it that he broke Tiffany Vanrich's arm protecting someone from one of her escapades."

Mila shrugged and looked at her sister in puzzlement, "I don't understand. He did have some muscles, so that shouldn't be too surprising. Tiff is known for her cruelty, not her strength."

Shaking her head, Abby said, "Are you forgetting who sticks to her side like glue?"

Thinking for a second, Mila's expression changed, "You don't mean she was there… do you?"

Nodding, "If rumors are to be believed, she was."

"If Jasmine was there, why didn't she stop him?" Mila asked slowly.

Looking her sister in the eyes, Abby said, "She couldn't stop him."

===

In a faraway castle, a woman sat on her throne, the seat a skull and its armrests horns.

Her usual blank face broke, a small smile appearing.

All those who saw this smile would shiver at the sight, as it usually only meant one thing, death.

But the mother of Demons, as she was known, wasn't planning a slaughter. Instead, she was looking at a message from her daughters.

"A man we have found, worthy he is, to wear the crown. We will go on a journey together to great heights, we will try to strive together to show heaven our might. Forgive us, mother, for we must go now. I hope we will make you proud."

Seeing her daughters use the tongue of rhymes, she knew they had found their cure.

Hearing the message, the mother bowed and prayed, "Zol'gan be with them. May he be the one."

===

In an icy palace, an expressionless woman stared at her blue-eyed daughter.

"Is this my daughter?" The expressionless woman asked.

"Mother, It's me," Mara said, eyes cast to the floor, her shoulders shaking.

Since being summoned back by her mother, Mara had been afraid of this moment. She had spent time with Ryan all day today and had been filled with his energy twice.

She felt her constitution, while still existing, would not be a problem again for a long time.

This was fantastic news for her, but it seemed like the worst thing possible.

Her mother was a tyrant in her eyes, and she knew she liked her daughter just as dead in the eyes as she was.

The Frost General had only taken a second to discern something was different about her daughter.

'How has she suppressed the Frost?' The Frost General knew her daughter was born with the same "condition" she had. She had lied and told everyone her situation was due to her constitution and that her daughter had the same, but only she knew the truth.

'But how? I've tried for thousands of years, but the frost has never abated.'

She was hoping to ask her daughter how she had done it, but as she looked at her daughter, she saw her shoulders shaking and a tear running down her cheek.

Seeing her daughter so afraid of her, she couldn't help but break a little inside. She had been unable to feel emotions for hundreds of years at this point, except for her daughter.

Seeing her daughter being born 19 years ago, she smiled for the first time since her 9th birthday.

Raising her had been the best years of her life, but she slowly realized that her daughter had inherited her misfortune and contracted the same condition.

This broke her inside. Every time she looked at Mara now, all she saw was her failure as a mother to protect her daughter.

Seeing her daughter shed tears at her, she only felt hollow inside.

"Okay, I'll talk to you tomorrow." The Frost General said, getting up from her chair and walking away.

Watching her mother walk away, Mara continued to cry, 'Did she even notice that I changed?'

Walking towards her bedroom, Mara tried her best to calm her crying.

Reaching her bedroom door, she paused, gripping the handle.

She acknowledged she could turn around and run, but is that what she wanted?

'Will you spend all your life turning back when things get tough? Will you cry and leave like a coward? Or will you continue to fight and press on? So many adventures await. All you have to do is take a step forward.'