Chapter 98: Uh Oh. This Might Be Bad...

"Congratulations..." Hayato dryly commented from the windowsill of her room.

"While I'm super happy about being branded an infamous deadly dangerous ass-kicking magjistar criminal, I have warned you before about suddenly popping up at my window..." Zoey was in the first passage of Overdraft!

  Zoey's thick cornrows were rising to the air as if held by an invisible ghost from the large amount of magji releasing from her body. The veins normally hidden were now expanding and bulging with power all over her skin. Along with her veins, her normally unimpressive body, which defied the laws of the universe thanks to the box, was bulked up. So, instead of a regular girl lifting weights, she looked like a girl on her way to becoming a professional female bodybuilder.

"Don't take me for a fool. I activated my magji before I showed up. That way, if you tried to punch me again, I wouldn't suddenly have multiple broken ribs and one of those ribs puncturing my organs." Hayato assured her.

"That warning wasn't for you but me! How am I supposed to explain myself to my family if a boy was climbing into my window and they walked in to see you and me?" Zoey tried to get him to see reason.

"Tell them a... friend... came to visit." Hayato still had trouble with the f-word.

"You could've just sent a text if you wanted to congratulate me. Why did you really come to visit?" Zoey put down her math textbook.

  Before Hayato showed up, she was training and being productive! Since Overdraft heavily strains the body, Zoey thought, what if she just trained how long she could stay in the form? Wouldn't her body automatically adapt over time, and using the first passage would be no different from not using it? Except she'd be stronger, and there wouldn't be any pain or strain! Of course, it was just a guess.

  Zoey asked Victor if he thought it was possible, and even he didn't know if it was possible to train Overdraft. He taught her that technique as a last resort technique. Something she should only use if her life was in danger and there was little chance of coming out as the victor. There hasn't been anyone known for using Overdraft commonly.

  That put a smile on Zoey's face. Maybe this was the beginning of her own magji path! Hell, maybe she could even make her own magji clan full of Overdraft users once she masters it! A clan full of fucking monsters that could decimate any magjistars around their age.

'Don't be fucking stupid. You still have to prove if it's even possible.' Inner Zoey reminded.

'Right!'

  Zoey did feel comfortable using Twisting Force, but any capable magjistar was able to do something like that if they put their mind to it. She also didn't know how to properly teach that technique to someone who wasn't a magjistar or had a box. Because using Twisting Force should be impossible without mahna, but somehow Zoey was capable of doing it. Maybe her body's gotten so strong that things that are normally impossible for regular people are now possible for her?

  Like a regular corkscrew punch turned into a twisting punch just because she's got so much strength in her body. Zoey couldn't explain it any other way. Either she herself was strong, or it was because of the box. She hoped it was the first one.

  Using Combo Magji as her clan's primary technique didn't lose out to Overdraft. Combo Magji was crazy strong if used well. Her clan mates would just have to adapt to using Combo Magji in the best way that suits them. Although, Zoey didn't feel comfortable that there was only one technique for it. Sure, it worked out well for herself, but Zoey wouldn't put herself on the same level as regular magjistars. She'd have to think of more techniques and ways to use Combo Magji if she decides to make that one of the core magji of their clan.

  Wait a fucking second! She could do both Overdraft and Combo Magji! Combo Magji as the core magji, while Overdraft being a necessary technique for any clan member! Overdraft worked with any person that could use magji, and it didn't matter what kind of magji they used. It could be learned or connate!

  But all this depended on if Zoey wanted to make a magji clan in the first place. To be honest, she didn't really want to associate herself deeper into the magji world to the level that she's becoming an integral part of them. She just wanted to fight strong people and level up her skills. That was her main motivation for even being involved in the magji world right now if you didn't include her magji friends. Maybe her clan could go to war with other clans from time to time if she wanted to level up... If there were no evil demons around by that point.

  As of now, living the best of both worlds has the most benefits in Zoey's eyes. So, she's going to stay in that position for as long as she can until she's forcefully pulled to one side or the other. Based on how strong she's getting in only a year with the box, Zoey has a feeling the universe is going to shit on her somehow. All this power and potential in a single person's body... Zoey was definitely going to get sealed, branded as the magji world's number one enemy, or sent off into an alternate magji dimension for a thousand years.

  And honestly, Zoey had no clue on how to prevent any of that. Avoiding politics and traps wasn't her style nor something she could avoid if she wanted to keep leveling up her skills.

'Well, ain't this a bitch... Can't a girl get strong without someone trying to fuck her over?' Inner Zoey complained.

'Should we nerf ourselves? For safety, of course.' Regular Zoey asked in concern

'Could you handle losing that many times?'

'Yeah, I'd probably lose it if I had to lose to people weaker than me.'

'We need to go on that shopping trip with Prometheus. He should know where to get some daemonic or magji tools to protect ourselves. We could even buy some stuff for the family.' Inner Zoey reminded her other self.

'That is a good idea! I can't get sealed if I'm nowhere near the thing trying to seal me. If I find a foolproof way of disguising myself, I can't be branded as a criminal if no one knows I'm me, and how could I be sent off to a different dimension if I'm not by the person trying to send me away!'

  With pain and ache already flowing through her body thanks to Overdraft, relief soon followed as she thought about her relationship with Prometheus. Hopefully, he'll have some stuff she could purchase or get. Although Zoey wouldn't regularly thank Victor, he did help her out big time in the money department. By taking her on those hellish cases, she was loaded in the magji world. Thanks to her debut in the YFTL and defeat of the champion, she also had plenty of companies wanting to sponsor her and already sponsoring her. So, she wasn't hurting for money in the normal world, either.

"They don't have any leads, but the OM is losing their minds over this." Hayato started off. "A clan hasn't been wiped out since your master's era; in his case, multiple clans were wiped out while everyone knew it was him."

"Shit." Zoey had a lot more clans to wipe out if she wanted to surpass Victor.

"There are rumors of you being involved just because of that connection, but no one important takes it seriously. People know of your talent, but no one thinks you're able to wipe out a clan on your own yet." Hayato assured her.

"..." Zoey felt a little pissed at being underestimated for some reason.

"Many important people are focusing on this case. Clan heads, wanted magjistars, and the recently formed Council of the OM. The Council is hoping to find the person behind the destruction of the Hanma Clan to show off how effective and useful it is to the magji world."

"Council?" Zoey questioned how the hell did Hayato get all this information.

"The new leaders of the OM. They were voted in by the magji populace and now have a seat at the top, looking over the magji world, making decisions for the benefit of the magji world and those that live in it. As they say..." Hayato didn't seem to believe it, and neither did Zoey.

  But Zoey was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. She did do something that's apparently illegal, and they are working toward finding out who is responsible for it. As long as they didn't send assassins after her, intentionally screw her over at every turn, and continually try to inconvenience her throughout her magjistar career, she would be fine with them.

"Do you think they'll be able to find me?" Zoey asked the important question.

"It's not if they'll be able to find you. It's if they can find proof that you were there or not." Hayato corrected her.

"Hmm." Zoey thought back to the clan crashing.

  Max and Cody, her hound-head gloves, were definitely seen by the fleeing Hanma Clan members. Zoey's black skin was seen. Max and Cody were seen at the joint case as well. They'd probably be able to describe the way she fought too. The more Zoey thought about it, the more guilty she knew she was.

"Ah fuck." Zoey was guilty as hell.