"Because I want something."

"What do you want?"

The grin on Nova’s face widened.

"You." Asia’s eyes widened, and her face instantly flushed crimson.

"Y-You..."

Asia was just about to lose her composure again when another voice suddenly came from behind them.

"Well... who do we have here?"

Without even turning around, Nova immediately sensed it, the powerful aura he had noticed earlier from inside the estate was now only a short distance away.

He slowly turned around. Two men were walking toward them with calm, steady steps, while two subordinates followed a few paces behind.

It was Ragnar and Enzo.

The moment Nova saw them, he silently activated his All-Appraisal Eyes, as their profiles appeared before him, his eyes widened in shock.

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Name: Ragnar Lionheart

Rank: B

Level: 850

Race: Human

Affinity: Fire

Stats:

Strength: 1,212

Agility: 1,220

Endurance: 1,209

Intelligence: 1,190

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Name: Enzo Keller

Rank: A

Level: 890

Race: Human

Affinity: Shadow

Stats:

Strength: 1,269

Agility: 1,277

Endurance: 1,265

Intelligence: 1,246

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"What the fuck...!"

Nova shouted inwardly the moment he saw their levels and stats. He had expected the people from the capital to be powerful, but this was far beyond anything he had imagined.

Outwardly, however, his expression remained calm and composed, while inside, his mind was in complete turmoil.

{Don’t even think about getting on their bad side for now. They could kill you within seconds. More importantly, focus on controlling your demonic aura. If it leaks even a little, there’s a chance they’ll notice it.}

{I never expected you to run into high-level Grandmaster experts this soon. Look behind them... those two subordinates are Grandmasters as well, though they’re only around Level 500.}

Nova shifted his gaze behind Ragnar and Enzo. Just as Liya had said, both of their subordinates were Grandmaster-level experts, each hovering slightly above Level 500.

He had expected strong reinforcements from the capital...But he had never imagined that Frostholme would receive experts of such a high Grandmaster level.

"Uncle Enzo, Uncle Ragnar," Asia greeted them politely.

Enzo smiled warmly as he looked at her.

"You’ve grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you. I heard you’ve awakened S-Rank potential. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Uncle Enzo," Asia replied with a smile.

Seeing Enzo once again speak before him, Ragnar couldn’t help feeling slightly annoyed. His gaze then shifted toward Nova and Rieka.

"And who are these two?" he asked.

Asia answered respectfully,

"They’re my friends."

Both men turned their attention to Nova and Rieka, carefully observing them from head to toe. Since Nova was concealing his true status behind a fake one, there was nothing about him that could arouse their suspicion.

To their senses, he appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary young Awakened yet somthing was different about Nova they felt.

Seeing the confused expressions on Nova’s and Rieka’s faces, Asia began introducing the two men.

"You probably don’t know them since you’ve never been to the capital. These two are extremely famous and powerful figures."

She first looked at Ragnar.

"The tall man in silver armor is the Vice Commander of the Royal Guards of the Kingdom of Aureth."

Then she gestured toward Enzo.

"And the man in the black suit is the Second-in-Command of the Twilight Order’s Aureth Branch."

Nova and Rieka looked at the two men in astonishment. Nova had already guessed they were important figure by their strength level, but he hadn’t expected one to be the Vice Commander of the Royal Guards while the other held such a high position in a organisation he was hearing first time about.

Noticing the confused look on Nova’s face, Enzo smiled.

"I normally wouldn’t bother explaining this, but since you’re Asia’s friend... and my lovely niece’s friend at that, I’ll make an exception."

Nova and Rieka were caught off guard once again. Enzo chuckled at their reactions.

"Oh? She didn’t tell you? Her mother was my little sister, and Duke Theodore is my brother-in-law."

Nova had heard from his parents that the Duke had only ever married one woman, whom he loved deeply. However, after Asia was born, she was struck by an incurable illness and eventually passed away. Since her death, the Duke had never remarried.

Nova instinctively looked toward Asia, she simply nodded. Enzo then continued,

"Coming back to the Twilight Order... it’s an organization established to preserve peace throughout the world. Our duty is to maintain the balance between darkness and light."

"The Order operates on a global scale. We have branches across every continent, every kingdom, and every major city in the world."

Nova finally understood what kind of organization the Twilight Order was in this world. It was a major organization that operated on a global scale.

In simple terms, it was the law enforcement organization of this world, responsible for maintaining peace and balance.

Ragnar, who had been standing quietly for a while, suddenly spoke.

"Kid, you should consider joining the Royal Guards. I can see you’ve built a good physique at such a young age, and your level isn’t bad either. Already around Level 30... judging by your age, you must have awakened only recently."

Nova was surprised by Ragnar’s sudden offer. Before he could reply, Enzo immediately interrupted.

"What are you doing, you muscle head? You can’t go around recruiting anyone you please. Can’t you see he’s my niece’s friend? If he joins anyone, it’ll be the Twilight Order."

"Hmph!... Quit copying my words," Ragnar said in annoyance.

"I’m copying you?" Enzo scoffed. "For fuck’s sake, you’ve been copying me since yesterday."

The two immediately started bickering again. Their subordinates standing behind them simply shook their heads, as though this was a common occurrence.

Nova was genuinely surprised to see two people of such status and strength behaving like children. Seeing his reaction, Asia smiled helplessly and explained,

"They’re always like this. Whenever they meet, they start bickering over the smallest things. People say they don’t like each other, but I think this is just their way of showing friendship."

The moment they heard Asia’s words, both men turned toward her and shouted in perfect unison,

"We are not friends!!"

"Che... I’m leaving."

With those words, Ragnar disappeared from his position. Seeing his commander leave, the two Royal Guard members quickly followed after him.

"That bastard..."

Enzo muttered before turning back toward Nova. "Anyway, what’s your potential rank?"

"A," Nova answered.

"Hmm... that’s pretty good. But you should level up as quickly as possible. In three years, there will be a recruitment in the capital. I hope you join."

It was obvious why the two men had taken an interest in Nova. Just like Theodore, they could sense that he was different someone with exceptional talent—yet they couldn’t pinpoint exactly what made him stand out, as he appeared completely ordinary in every way.

Enzo and Ragnar felt the same. Monarch’s Mask had worked better than expected, but it wasn’t entirely effective against powerhouses like them. Its rank was still too low, and Nova knew he would have to upgrade it soon.

He then smiled at Asia.

"And my beautiful niece... I’ll be taking my leave now."

The next moment, Enzo vanished from his spot with his subordinate as well .

Nova turned toward Rieka and Asia, only to find both of them staring at him as if he had just said something that made no sense.

"What is it?" Nova asked in a confused tone.

{My dumb host... you just said your potential rank is A. Did you already forget that everyone knows you awakened with C-Rank potential? Both Asia and Rieka know that.}

Although Nova had already revealed almost everything to Rieka, he had never told her that he could increase his potential rank. Because of that, she was just as shocked as Asia.

Asia was the first to speak.

"Didn’t you awaken with C-Rank potential? How come you said A-Rank?"

Nova simply smiled.

"It’s a secret."

Rieka understood that Nova would tell her later, so she didn’t press him any further. The same, however, couldn’t be said for Asia.

She puffed her cheeks into a cute pout, clearly dissatisfied with his answer.

The boy she had once thought was completely ordinary was suddenly becoming more and more mysterious with each passing day.

Just then, Nova sensed someone approaching them.

A maid hurried toward the three of them before stopping respectfully in front of Nova.

"Sir Nova , lady Rieka ," she said with a slight bow, "my Lord is requesting your presence in the guest hall , Sir Nova’s parents are also their ".

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A/N :

I intentionally didn’t mention their ages in the status, so don’t think I forgot. After giving it some thought, I felt that revealing their ages would reduce some of the excitement and mystery surrounding the characters.

Thanks for reading...