New ally gained!

Aiden dragged Kyle into the room and locked the door, then composed himself before turning to face Kyle. He hardened his features, his expression a mask of anger.

Aiden was renowned for his pride and ego, convinced that the world centered around him. He expected special treatment from those closest to him, so when his best friend failed to check up on him, Aiden's anger was inevitable.

Aiden finally turned to face Kyle, his expression carefully composed. He strode past Kyle, who was standing nonchalantly, and sat down on his bed.

"Sit down, or do you plan to stand forever?" Aiden asked sternly. 

Kyle looked taken aback, scratching his head as he obediently took a seat on one of the couches in the room. "Oh...right," he murmured, his tone hesitant.

Kyle's eyes locked onto Aiden's, and he blurted out, "I'm a predator." 

The room fell silent, the tension between them palpable. Both young adults stared intensely at each other, Kyle's expression strained and worried, while Aiden's was perplexed and confused. 

The sudden notification in their minds shattered the silence, breaking the intense gaze between them.

[Ding!

A predator wishes to be your ally. Accept or reject.]

Without reading between the lines, Aiden accepted. 

[Ding! 

New Ally gained.

Name: Kyle

Race: Elf

Evil generated: 1%

System: Theft System

…. ]

[Ding!

You've been tied to a master.]

"Shit!" Kyle's face darkened with a grim expression as he gazed at the screen, his eyes fixed on the notification. Aiden, on the other hand, looked perplexed, his confusion evident as he stared at the screen. 

"An elf?" Aiden's eyes lit up with excitement when he saw Kyle's race, but he quickly regained his composure.

He closed his notification bar and asked, his tone laced with concern, "Kyle, are you sure you're okay? What prompted you to do this?"

Kyle also closed his notification bar and collected himself before speaking. "I'm glad you're not a prey. I expected as much, since you're clearly not a pushover." 

Aiden's expression remained bored, his eyes fixed on Kyle as he tapped his hand on the bed, a familiar gesture that betrayed his skepticism. 

Kyle recognized the hint of dissatisfaction and elaborated, "I did it to determine whether you're a prey or predator." 

"Why didn't you just ask me?"

"I didn't think it through. I just assumed that saying it out loud would somehow reveal the answer."

"So, you don't mind being my ally?" Aiden asked, his eyebrows shooting up as he scrutinized Kyle with a skeptical gaze.

Kyle's face contorted in confusion. "What do you mean by that? I've also got a notification here that says I've acquired a master. What's going on?" 

Aiden's brows furrowed intensely as he pondered the question. He sought clarification from the system, his curiosity piqued. 

"System, is it possible for a Predator to be unaware that they can acquire an ally?" He paused, awaiting the response.

[System: Yes, that's very possible. You're a prime example. You didn't understand the system's workings until you started exploring it yourself. The ability to gain allies was only revealed to you after you acquired one.]

Aiden's curiosity deepened. "Why is that?" he asked, his tone inquiring. "Why doesn't the system provide this information upfront to all its hosts?"

[System: I'm not sure how other systems operate. It is done this way for you so that you can grow along the way without depending much on me]

"Oh…" Aiden sighed as he stared at the system words. He dismissed the system and stared back at his friend who was still looking at him with a confused face.

"Just forget about it Kyle. It's nothing serious, ask your system to know more about allies and how does your form look? I'm curious, I haven't seen an elf before." Aiden said with a smile on his face. 

He wasn't lying about that. He had always been a fan of fantasy stories and one of his favorite fantasy characters is an elf, one of the reasons he is not so in the likening that he became a demon. 

"Oh…that, it's nothing serious." Kyle said, scratching his head, "It's just ears and that…"

"Change into your form for me to see."

"Yes master," As Kyle heard his words, he felt himself compelled to answer his request and he found himself instantly proceeding to change.

"Wait… what is happening? Why did you say master, don't tell me you are under my spell?" Aiden asked, confused.

[System: You need to learn how to control your aura around your allies to be able to separate command from request. Your deep desire to see his form made you subconsciously emit your master order and commanded him instead of the request you wish to do.]

"Oh…" Aiden nodded at the system words.

Aiden watched in awe as Kyle's transformation began. His hair turned a vibrant emerald green, his eyes matched the intense hue, and his ears sharpened into points. 

Aiden waited, mesmerized, as the changes took hold. But to his surprise, Kyle reverted to his human form mere seconds later, collapsing onto the bed with a sigh.

"Do I always have to answer you like that?" Kyle complained, his tone laced with frustration.

Aiden's excitement had waned, replaced by a hint of disappointment. "Is that it?" he asked, his voice tinged with a sense of anticlimax. He had been expecting something more, something extraordinary.

"Yes, you expected more?" Kyle laughed, his tone playful. "I told you, it's nothing serious. Just ears and...what about you, what's your form?"

"A demon," Aiden replied, his voice low and husky, his hands folding into fists.

"You mean a demon, direct descendant of the devil?!" Kyle asked, his surprise evident in his tone.

Aiden raised an eyebrow, his gaze fixed on Kyle's amazed expression. "Yes, what's wrong?"

Kyle's eyes widened in awe. "Wow...that's superb. Isn't that the highest race of demons, while..."

Aiden's words cut in, blunt and unfiltered. "While yours is the lowest, you can't even gain allies among the demon races because they're higher in rank than you."

Kyle's expression remained unfazed. "No offense meant," Aiden added, his tone neutral.

Kyle waved it off. "None taken."

"So, how has school been and the underworld?" Aiden finally asked the question that he had been itching to ask.

"Without the boss of the school, it's pretty chill there. We need you," Kyle said, "And the underworld, we should get there tomorrow after school."

"Yes, I really need to. My monthly task is for me to release a prisoner who has killed someone on bail and there's no possible way I can do that unless I use the connections I have with the underworld."

"It's not actually that hard. You are the fourth in command only if your post has changed. With a few calls you can do some things but on bail…that's going to be hard because it means it will be a legal release. Maybe we can find a way to bribe the judge to accept a reopening of the prisoner's case." Kyle suggested.

Aiden just nodded as he heard his words. Just as he thought, Aiden's friends will surely havea good way of helping him solve his tasks, now one of them has become his ally.