Samuel Archer turned to the clerk and said: “What steps must I undergo to contest this preliminary trial?”

“None.”

Everyone turned to the clerk in surprise.

“What do you mean?” hissed Samuel.

“What I mean is,” said the clerk, “there are no steps by which you can contest this preliminary trial. The rules state that you must defeat the shield slime by any means necessary—which he did.”

The clerk raised a finger before anyone could interrupt her.

“Of course, had Max convinced Sakura to lend her power to him and she did so willingly, you might have more of a case; but you were clearly in opposition to Max passing the test, so you were more of an obstacle than an ally. Yet, he was able to use that to his advantage. It was a very impressive display.”

“That is absurd,” sneered Samuel, before stomping off and leaving the battle arena.

“What’s up with that guy?” Max asked after Samuel was gone.

Sakura sighed. “I honestly have no idea. I think when you get to as high a rank as Samuel you start to see the world differently. You encase yourself in your own pride and find opponents in anyone who threatens it.”

Sakura placed her hand on Max’s shoulder affectionately.

“You did good today,” she said, smiling. “And guess what? The day isn’t even over. Let me treat you to lunch.”

* * *

Samuel strode down the street at a quickened pace.

He ignored everyone around him and walked so fast he threatened to crash into people, but they all intuitively knew to just get out of the man’s way.

So the boy had a unique trait, thought Samuel to himself as he strode back towards the Archer family penthouse. A powerful one at that. He could borrow other people’s power and attacks.

That was incredibly powerful. As the boy grew in strength and gained ranks, it would become even more deadly.

He waited until he was back in the penthouse before making the call he was eager to make.

He held the phone to his ear.

“We may have more of a problem than I initially thought,” said Samuel. “The boy has a unique trait. He might not be a threat now, but he could be later. Best to nip it in the bud. You know what to do.”

With that, the man ended his phone call and strode off to deal with his other affairs.

18

The chef slid two hot steaming bowls of soup and noodles in front of Sakura and Max.

The broth had orange bubbles of oil floating on top suggesting the soup had some hot chili spices within.

“More ramen, really?” said Max.

Considering that’s what they had for dinner yesterday, it seemed like a lot. Not to mention, based off of their new roommate agreement, they’d be having more bacon and egg ramen a lot more for the foreseeable future.