47 The City Lord(4)

"The call is yours. What do you want to do?"

As Aaron was asked this question, he first took a few deep breaths while looking down in order to calm his heart that felt like it would beat out of his chest at any moment.

"Owowow?"

Unable to understand why its friend was so agitated, Woof made a questioning sound, but Aaron just touched it to tell it that everything was all right.

What he had just been through…was just a bit difficult to explain using thoughts and images. He could tackle that later, but the man in front of him needed an answer first.

Of course, he had already shaken his head in response to the first question he had been asked right after waking up, as everything he had been through had been so fresh on his mind.

It was like asking him whether he would engage in another confrontation with a Razor-winged Vulture for the remains of a Tera right after he and Woof had just escaped one's pursuit with great difficulty.

True, while they were nursing their wounds caused by the sharp feathers of the vulture while cursing it, they would say 'no', but a little bit of time later, they might be ready for another go, especially if the Tera which was dead was a high-level one.

Stronger Teras did taste better, after all.

Of course, this case was different.

Aaron sank into deep thought, seeing which the old man smiled and pulled up a chair before sitting down.

He had always admired youths who could calm down and make rational decisions instead of emotional ones.

Besides, he had heard about people like these who survived in the jungle for years in the company of Teras. Unlike those who managed to do so alone, who were usually cold, emotionless individuals driven purely by instinct, these people were supposed to be more equipped to think logically to choose the best option in any situation, because that was partly how they managed to survive for so long.

Researchers said that the bond with a Tera made it so that these people would not completely devolve into beasts, themselves, as was expected typically from those who went through such an experience. They would be able to retain their sanity and some parts of what they had learned when they were still in society, as it was usually the case that such people had gotten lost after living for a bit among humans during events that could have broken up their settlements.

The old man wondered what the past of the one in front of him was, as it was clear from the way he was that he definitely fell in this category. If he hadn't been in a society before, there was no way that he could have retained so many things which made him human.

Meanwhile, Aaron started to carefully go through each experience, taking his time with each one.

He broke down and analyzed all 46 of them, as if he was approaching a scenario in the jungle where he and Woof had to decide whether to fight a stronger Tera for food or not.

His character had developed to become one that emphasized on the result over all else, even choosing to resort to underhanded ways even though he didn't like them if it meant that he could survive.

And that…shone through again now, making the old man gawk at him as he gave his answer.

"I don't want to kill him. I want to make him believe that I am not a threat, and if that is not possible, I want to go into hiding to become stronger. Either way, after growing strong enough, I will kill him."

"…"

What the f*ck?

The main reason for the old man being so shocked was that this was something he would never consider from someone like Aaron, even though it was the smartest move.

Retreat, and kill when strong enough.

He was also confident that probably no other normal Ascender would choose this, as they were all typically hot-blooded teenagers who would never be able to make conscious, adult decisions like these where they would have to endure accepting that they were weak.

It was different if they chose it after being advised. And if they were shown the difference in power in the same way that had happened with Aaron, they would have been shaking in their boots and wishing to never tangle with someone like that.

The gap was just that large.

It was also different if the Ascender had some sort of background they could fall back on. Then, they could bide their time.

Yet, this kid with nothing of the sort had decided right away with the confidence that he would be able to reach that power level.

From where did he get this kind of confidence?

The old man didn't know.

And he was excited to find out.

Clapping his hands, he laughed out loud while Aaron picked himself up.

At the same moment, Anissa burst into the room with panic on her face.

"The City Lord has sent a message! He found out about this whole thing, and he wants to meet you and that guy! He promises that he won't bring harm, and that the meeting can occur in the presence of a World Government Official!"

Hearing this, the old man's eyes hardened, as if the worst case had come to be.

Turning to Aaron, he said, "It seems it wasn't your call, after all. Get ready. The City Lord waits for no one."