Bluffing Is A Way Of Life...

Ruby noticed Jane sitting quietly, seemingly lost in her thoughts. 

She gestured toward her, but when Jane didn't respond, Ruby called out louder, "Jane!" Jane jumped, blinking rapidly, a confused look on her face as she turned towards Ruby's voice. "Your turn next?"

"Oh, yes, of course," she replied, shaking off her distraction.

She stood up quickly and moved to the center of the group, where Ruby had been moments earlier. Taking a deep breath, She tapped on her CAD, and a large blue holographic screen appeared, displaying her status window.

╔════════<Status >══════════╗ 

 Name: Jane Cromwell

 Grade: D- 

 Potential: S 

 Profession: [Mage Lv1]

-------------

<Stats >

 Strength: E- 

 Agility: E+ 

 Vitality: E- 

 Wisdom: A 

 Charm: A+

-------------

<Mana Stats>

 Mana Capacity: D+ 

 Affinity: Water/Dark

-------------

<Blessing Index>

 Blessing: 

 - Necroforma (S) 

 Bloodline Blessing: ----

-------------

<Skills Index>

Spell Manual: Soul Thunder (Intermediate mastery) [Epic]

...(5 More)

-------------

<Equipment Index>

 Equipment: ..... 

╚════════════════════════╝

Everyone froze, eyes widening as they saw Jane's unbelievable stats.

While everyone was frozen by overwhelming stats of Jane, she also seemed distant, lost in her thoughts. 

She had always seen Asuka as nothing more than a spoiled playboy, a molester who was heavily reliant on his family's power. But seeing him today after many years, he was surprisingly dependable, like a completely different person. 'I don't care if he's changed,' she thought, her expressions getting darker. 'I won't ever forgive.'

"Jane!" Ruby's voice snapped Jane's attention back. 

Ruby's arm then moved over Jane's shoulders. "I knew you had an S-tier blessing and S-grade potential, which is already incredibly rare. In fact, you might be the only one in our entire Black Dragon WG with S-tier blessing. But your stats are monstrous too!" Ruby's tone brimmed with awe.

"Ah...yes," Jane responded simply.

Coming close, Ashton chuckled. "With stats and a blessing like that, you could carry us all by yourself."

As Ruby and Ashton celebrated, Asuka and Grey remained silent. Asuka, who had been sitting comfortably, felt a wave of stress building within him as he saw Jane's monstrous stats. 

He scratched his head and shifted uneasily in his seat. 'That bitch is more of a monster than I thought. Tsk, dealing with her will be hard.'

He glanced at Grey, who was also showing signs of discomfort. Although Grey's face remained indifferent, his body language showed signs of irritation and unease. 

Jane, Ruby, and Ashton were still caught up in their discussion, appreciating Jane's exceptional stats when a sharp, commanding voice cut through their talks. "We're running late, and unlike you guys, I don't have time to waste. Let's wrap this up quickly," Grey said, his eyes fixed firmly on Ruby.

"Ah...yes, sorry, I got carried away." Ruby gestured for Jane to retake her seat.

As Ashton was already there, he stepped forward. "Guess I'm next then."

"I'm not as impressive as Jane, but I'm glad to be here," he added, but his usual demeanour suddenly changed a bit, as he tapped on his CAD, a large holographic screen appeared, displaying his stats…

╔════════<Status >══════════╗ 

 Name: Ashton Ashford 

 Grade: E 

 Potential: B- 

 Profession: [Spearmaster Lv1]

-------------

<Stats >

 Strength: D- 

 Agility: E+ 

 Vitality: E+ 

 Wisdom: F-

 Charm: B

-------------

<Mana Stats>

 Mana Capacity: F+ 

 Affinity: Poison 

-------------

<Blessing Index>

 Blessing: 

 - Berserker (B) 

 Bloodline Blessing: ----

-------------

<Skills Index>

 Martial Art Manual: Serpent Spere Art (Intermediate mastery) [Rare]

-------------

<Equipment Index>

 Equipment: Spear [Uncommon] 

╚════════════════════════╝

Like after watching Jane's status window, there was an awkward silence among the group, but the reason was completely different. 

"Wow, we even have a spearman! Our squad will be the most complete one. yay!" she exclaimed, trying to lift the mood.

Ashton, who had been feeling a bit self-conscious about his stats, managed a small, embarrassed smile.

"Thank you, Ruby-chan," Ashton said quietly, his usual playfulness replaced by a touch of awkwardness.

"Next." Grey's bored gaze didn't even moved towards Ashton as he addressed Ruby once more.

Ashton tried to lighten the moment with a forced smile. "Look, Ruby-chan, Grey is so mean," he joked, though it was clear he was struggling to hide his discomfort.

"Ah..." Ruby fumbled, attempting to comfort Ashton, but a sharp, indifferent voice cut through again.

"I get Ruby and Asuka, Ruby's a healer, and Asuka used connections. But you?" Grey's intense stare finally landed on Ashton. "How the hell did you even pass with such mediocre stats?"

Ashton's forced smile wavered a bit, as he lowered his head and quietly moved back to his seat.

Asuka, who had been watching, clenched his jaw and gave a sarcastic smile. 'Grey, welcome to my kill-before-I-die list.' he thought, his fierce gaze fixed on Grey. 

"Ashton." Jane tried to lift Ashton's spirit while indirectly taunting Asuka. "Your stats don't matter. What matters are results, and I know you can outperform others here a thousandfold."

Asuka again forced a wide smile, 'Don't worry, Jane. You're still at the top on my list,' he thought, feeling irritated but for now, he decided to keep his cool.

Upon noticing Asuka's unusual smile, Grey spoke with a frown. his eye's on Asuka who was looking at Jane at the moment. "Hey, Asuka, can you stop smiling like that? You look like a monkey,"

Ignoring Grey's comment, Asuka stood up and walked to the centre without a word. He tapped on his CAD, and a large holographic screen appeared, displaying his stats…

╔════════<Status >══════════╗ 

 Name: Asuka Volford 

 Grade: E 

 Potential: C 

 Profession: [Swordmaster Lv1]

-------------

<Stats >

 Strength: E

 Agility: D- 

 Vitality: E 

 Wisdom: F 

 Charm: A

-------------

<Mana Stats>

 Mana Capacity: F+ 

 Affinity: Lightning / Wind

-------------

<Blessing Index>

 Blessing: 

 - Timekeeper's Hourglass (A) 

 - Master's Insight (E) 

 Bloodline Blessing: ----

-------------

<Skills Index>

 Martial Art Manual: Standing Wind (Intermediate mastery) [Rare]

-------------

<Equipment Index>

 Equipment: Silver (Katana) [Rare] 

╚════════════════════════╝

The room was again filled with Silence. Finally, Ruby spoke up, her tone enthusiastic. "Asuka, your blessing looks really cool."

Again Grey's indifferent voice cut through the room as he spoke, his expression one of boredom. "With that potential, why are you bothering to become a warden? You could be a businessman or something instead of causing trouble."

'It's enough now!' The frustration Asuka had been holding within him, had now reached its limit.

He moved toward Grey, his crimson eyes burning with rage. A cold chuckle escaped his lips as he stood inches away from Grey, towering over him. "Grey you bored, right?? Then let me tell you something interesting."

"Huh??"

"You know If I wanted to, I could have you killed at any time. And what could you do about it? Nothing. You are a powerless fucker, A bastard child. You couldn't even get into your own family's guild, while I walked in without even taking the exam, despite having lowest potential." 

With a pause, Asuka continued, "You know who my grandfather is, right? The Sword God, an SSS-grade Warden. And my father? Even if you somehow became an S-grade Warden, you'd still be beneath me, calling me 'sir.' Remember what happened to the idiot who mocked me when I first entered class? His head ended up smashed against the wall. That's the difference between you and me, Grey. Between a pure-blooded noble and a bastard. It's a gap that will never change."

Asuka's grin widened, while Grey's eyes burned with anger, but he still remained silent. He knew Asuka was right. Despite his rage, he was indeed powerless.

Asuka walked a bit further, Turning back to Grey, he again continued, "Grey, you should know your fucking place. If you don't want your Warden career to end here. Let me teach you something, you never mess with someone who openly boasts about their crimes and yet remains untouchable by any authority."

Giving Grey a final glance Asuka looked over others. 

They were totally silent after all whatever Asuka said was the undeniable truth.

Jane's expression hardened. Despite her being a prodigy and having S-tier blessing and potential, she knew she couldn't kill Asuka directly. 

The amount of backing Asuka had was no joke. The Kaito family wielded immense influence, and their patriarch, known as the Sword God, was hailed by the whole world, an SSS-grade warden, whose powers were absolute.

Even more frightening was Asuka's father, Ragnar Volford, the current second-ranked Warden. 

He was wielding enough influence that he became the UN's director even though it's a known fact that he is the Highlord of Hollowed Assembly, the biggest crime syndicate.

The sole reason Jane joined Black Dragon WG was to take her revenge, but for now, it was impossible. Any attempt to harm him would not only fail but also put her and her whole family at risk.

"So, now that we've covered all points of the meeting," Asuka said with an air of indifference, "I will leave now, I have other important matters at hand."

With that, he turned and walked out of the room.

"The more I try, the more this group falls apart," Ruby muttered to herself as she watched Asuka's leaving back.

*

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{A/N}

If Asuka had so much support, why was he afraid of Jane?

Explanation: The Sword Saint mentioned in an earlier chapter that Kaito would stop supporting Asuka if he didn't produce results. Also, Asuka wasn't sure about his relationship with Ragnar either, so he was basically bluffing. From Asuka's perspective, if Jane wanted to kill him, she could easily do it. With her rare S-tier blessing, any guild or family would be eager to support her.

.....

I know there was a lot of dialogue and not much action in this chapter, and the chapter can be boring, but please be patient. A new arc will start in the next chapter. This chapter was focused on developing the characters and their relations.

Thanks for reading!

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Peace Out!!