Keep Distance

"You took quite a while~" a soft, familiar voice suddenly greeted Axle the moment he left the villa, causing him to freeze.

"Y-You…" Axle was shocked but he didn't let it show on his face, "You are that girl who wanted to go to bathroom."

"Pfft- what an interesting way to remember me." the girl giggled softly covering her mouth with her hand. She looked like a delicate princess who needs to be protected.

"Well, we haven't interacted before." Axle shrugged.

"Makes sense yeah. I look a lot different when I am in school, don't I?" she chuckled.

"How would I know how you look in school? I don't know you."

"Aww, I am hurt. How can you not recognize your own classmate, Axle?" she spoke lightly, looking at Axle.

'She knows me…' a bead of cold sweat dropped down Axle's back as he stared at her and said… "Maddie?"

"No! How can you compare me to that bitch, geez!" The girl quickly hitted Axle with her handbag, complaining. She couldn't help but break her respectful act after hearing that Axle compared her to that bitch Maddie.

Maddie was a famous girl in their class… famous in the sense that she was a known bitch around the school that no one wants to be friends with.

'Heh.' Axle chuckled softly seeing the girl's reaction to his guess.

"Tsk, no fun. I am Maria, your classmate." Maria pouted, and offered her hand for a handshake that Axle shook politely.

"Wow, you really don't look anything like in the school…" Axle was shocked.

In the school Maria was known as a nerd who only cares about reading her books and peek at Rex. She wore twin ponytails on her head while her charming blue eyes were hidden by round geeky glasses.

That looked nothing like her current open brunette hair and enchanting deep blue eyes. Her hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall while she was dressed in a high quality, charming gown.

"I dressed up better than usual today." Maria gave a polite smile and shifted her eyes towards the hall, looking at Rex who was chatting with the sexy blue haired senior.

"I see. It was nice meeting you. Let's catch up sometimes in school too." Axle smiled gently and decisively walked away, moving towards the rental hoverboards.

"Wearing such heavy and designer clothes, but still taking a rental hoverboard. Isn't that weird?" Maria suddenly chimed in, following behind Axle with a curious gaze.

"Well, I am not as hardworking as Miss Maria, who can work two shifts at Zudio tirelessly. I am quite impressed, I would say." Axle returned her gaze calmly.

"..." Maria stared at Axle for few seconds before covering her mouth and giggled, amused.

"Enough beating around the bush, I guess." Maria smirked, walking seductively to Axle. She kept her hand on his shoulder and whispered, "What did you steal?"

Axle's eyes grew frosty, 'Fuck, she caught on.'

"Hmm~ was I not clear enough, Axle~?" Maria whispered playfully.

"Keep your distance." Axle stepped back and sighed, "I stole a few jewelleries that I knew Rex hid in his cupboard."

"Oh?" Maria stared into Axle's eyes, "I feel like you are lying."

"I am not." Axle used his last remaining MP to make his voice deeper.

"Liar~" Maria stepped closer to Axle again, trying to seduce him into spilling all his secrets. She also began to run her hand against his blazer to feel the jewellery it hid.

"You like to stick to me a lot, don't you?" Axle gently pushed Maria against the wall and whispered softly, his deeper voice only added to the charm.

"..." Maria was speechless, 'Did this bastard just pull uno reverse card?!' Luckily he didn't touch her in weird places without her permission, or otherwise Maria would have pressed the SOS panic button on her bracelet.

"I stole jewellery worth 10,000 Styr." Axle spoke in a low voice, "I will give you half of it, but then you are a partner in crime. What do you say?"

"Sixt-"

"Don't try to negotiate, Maria. I was the one who took all the risk and bypassed the cameras. Be happy with fifty percent, otherwise go ahead and report me." Axle spoke with confidence, without any desire to back off.

"I… Ugh! Fine! I wasted more than 100 Styr on this stupid party. I can't go back empty handed!" Maria murmured to herself, "Those bastard guards didn't even let me hit on Rex. All that effort was for nothing!"

"Anyways, I agree. Give me the jewellery!" Maria asked impatiently, her eyes twinkling in desire when she imagined herself receiving free 5,000 Styr falling on her laps without doing anything.

'Tsk, wastage.' Axle sighed in pity and took out a few gold jewellery pieces and tossed them in Maria's hands.

"This is worth 5,000?" Maria asked dubiously.

"Yes. You can get above 5,100 if you find a good buyer." Axle nodded, "But be careful. This is stolen gold, don't sell it now since Rex might try to investigate it."

"Ah-" Maria widened her eyes, "I didn't think of that! You are such a professional thief, Axle! I never expected it!"

Axle scoffed at her and waved his arm saying, "See ya later, freeloader."

"Heh." Maria chuckled and walked to her rental hover car.

***

Axle was in a particularly good mood as he skipped back to his room, humming a nice melody.

Quite hard to believe, he had actually managed to steal a whopping sum of 65,000 Styr from Rex without being caught. Even though he used up all his MP while doing that, he didn't regret it.

After all…

[ Task Completed.

Good or Bad, Hero or Villain.

Difficulty - D

Task-

Malice in the heart, profit in the bag.

Reward- 1000 MP + 200 MP for bonus loot. ]

'Hehehehe~' Axle giggled to himself like a fool, staring into the mirror he directly spent 100 MP to strengthen his bones and muscles while also getting rid of excess fat.

His previously fat body gradually transformed into a tall and lean silhouette. The lines of his toned abdomen and slender waist exuded immense charm.

On his stomach were his well-defined 6-pack abs that could cause any girl's mouth to water, while the curves of his biceps and triceps would make any man to think twice before messing with him.

But not only that, his previously average face was now transformed into an otherworldly face without a single blemish on his fair skin.

His groomed black hair was silky and glossy, waving with the breeze in the air.

If Axle used to be a solid 4 to 5 before, now he won't be rated below 11 no matter what. Of course, Axle didn't keep this look but utilized about 25 more points to cover himself with a layer of fat.

"Yes~" Axle smirked after feeling the explosive power and energy coursing through his veins. He couldn't even compare to his usual lethargy. The difference was like night and day.

[ Does Host want to Level-Up?

-Unlocks Main Quests ]

But suddenly, a notification popped up in front of Axle as he was laughing like a fool by himself.

'Wait what?! Level up…?' Axle's eyes widened and he was reminded of the three counters in his system.

His MP points. His Level. And the System Level.

'How can I level up…?'