Old Friend

Angelica had a troubled look on her face as she rummaged through some papers, eventually stopping on one depicting a white-haired youth. "I really can't understand it."

"What is it that's troubling you so much?" Paul, who was standing beside the desk, looked at the paper with interest. It was hard to get Angelica to this kind of state. "Oh, isn't that the kid who is always sleeping during classes? What about him?"

Angelica raised a brow. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Hmm, five minutes?" Paul answered. "You always tend to forget about your surroundings when you are troubled by something."

"Yeah..." Angelica regained her composure, once again taking a look at Draco. "Paul, is it possible that we have evaluated a student's talent wrong?"

"That's very unlikely, but there could be some defects with the machines," Paul admitted, thinking for a few seconds. "You are telling me we have evaluated this kid wrongly? How so?"

Angelica nodded. "I have been teaching this new class for four weeks already, but out of all of them, he picked my teachings the fastest. Not only that, he always seems to hold back a bit, as if he had already known everything that I teach."

"Wait, you mean that he is better than those four monsters?" Paul asked in surprise.

"No... it's just that..." Angelica thought for a few seconds, frowning slightly. "He is definitely weaker than them right now, but there is just this strange feeling about him. I don't know. I really don't know anymore."

"I don't remember the last time I saw the Queen of Sun having so much trouble with a student." Paul joked slightly, only to realize his mistake immediately as he saw Angelica's killing intent spread out.

He immediately changed the topic. "Oh yeah, did you find anything about those three kids? Their parents are enraged."

"I did." Angelica calmed her aura down, a look of annoyance on her face. "They are dead. I found surveillance cameras showing how they willingly went towards the Forest of Darkness. Even though there is no clear evidence that they went inside, it's pretty clear that they did, somehow avoiding the guards."

"I see. That's quite a pity." Paul mumbled, a flash of seriousness flashing in his eyes. "This will probably make us look pretty bad in the eyes of the public, even though they died because of their own incompetence."

Angelica nodded. The death of talented students was never great news for humanity, hence everyone was extremely sensitive to death. Before leaving, Paul turned around and said. "Don't forget that tournament is coming up in three months."

Angelica nodded, glancing at the paper on her desk with a frown.

***

Draco was quite happy with how things were going for him right now. By consuming all the blue icy's, Draco had successfully broken through to [G+] rank. It was an incredible advancement compared to his past self. Moreover, his agility had broken into the [F-] rank, which was also nothing short of amazing.

'Tomorrow is the day.' Draco smiled, continuing to walk across the sidewalk. He could finally use [World Travel] again, and he couldn't lie that he wasn't excited. Yet, at the same time, he was cautious. Nothing stated that the quest would be as easy as the previous one, hence he mentally prepared himself for any hardships.

Draco opened the doors into a pub, putting his hood up so that they wouldn't kick him out for being a minor. He silently walked toward the bar and took a seat, ignoring all the stares.

'It has been long, my dear friend.' Draco looked at the male bartender, who was in the middle of serving another customer. He had a sharp look and extremely short, dark hair. His jawline and buff body attracted the prying eyes of many women, to which he responded with a gentle smile before continuing with his business.

"I am sorry, but we don't serve children." Adam approached Draco, noticing immediately that he was just a teenager.

"I didn't come here to drink." Draco looked up at Adam, a slight smile spreading across his face. "I came here for Adam Yonker."

Thud!

The glass in Adam's hand fell to the ground and shattered, attracting everyone's eyes. Adam shrugged his shoulders and apologized before cleaning up the mess.

"There are many eyes around here, so I would advise you to be more careful." Draco laughed a bit, seeing Adam's serious expression. "Come on, don't stare at me like that."

"Who sent you?" Adam asked, keeping his cool while making a drink for Draco. "How do you know my name?"

"It doesn't really matter how, but why." Draco took the cup from Adam's hands, playing with the liquid inside by moving it in a circular motion. "I need your help to steal something."

"How much?"

"100 million."

"Not interested." Adam quickly brushed it off. He had been a thief for a long time, and such sums were no longer interesting to him. Of course, the medical bills were increasing rapidly, but it was not yet to the point that he had to do some sketchy work with a peculiar teenager.

"I haven't finished." Draco took a gulp of the drink, only to understand that it was just orange juice. He sighed, placing the glass on the table. "100 million and a cure from your sister's illness."

Adam's casual demeanor disappeared as killing intent escaped from his body. "How do you know about my sister?" Adam didn't care anymore as he prepared to attack depending on his answer.

"Calm down, Adam." Draco sighed a bit, not even flinching at such killing intent. To be frank, Adam was weak. Yes, he was an incredible thief, but he was only [G] rank. That was also the reason he couldn't condone a bigger mission. If he was caught, then his death was almost guaranteed.

"You are asking the wrong questions again." Draco took another gulp of the orange juice before continuing. "It doesn't matter what I know and what I don't. What matters is that I am not here to cause any trouble, and I also know of a way to save your sister."

Adam took a deep breath, calming his nerves. His sister was a sensitive topic for him, hence he was caught by surprise. If the people from whom he stole found out about his sister, then things wouldn't end well.

"Please tell me how can I save her..." Adam asked.

"If I could, I would have told you immediately," Draco answered as a trace of dismay flashed through Adam's eyes. "However, don't be disappointed. I really know of a way to save her, it's just that it has yet to appear. Perhaps in three or four years"

'Yet to appear?' Adam frowned, not understanding what Draco was saying. He almost thought that this kid was simply lying, but those eyes didn't seem to be those of a liar.

"How can I trust you?"

"Soul contract," Draco answered without a second hesitation, surprising Adam quite a bit. "I will bet my life that in four years your sister's illness will be cured."

Adam wasn't sure how to react to this statement, but a seed of hope blossomed within him. Even though he was talking to a teenager, it felt like a sly old man was sitting before him.

"And what will I have to do?" Adam knew all too well that even a soul contract wasn't always so favorable for one side.

"First of all, I want you to help me steal a few things in the future." Draco gulped down the entire drink, placing it on the table and standing up. "And, in around two years' time, I want you to join my mercenary group."

"Mercenary group?" Adam raised an eyebrow.

"That's right." Draco turned around, beginning to walk away. "Anyway, it's time for me to go. If you are interested, contact the number on the card."

Adam glanced down at the card and then at Draco's back, his eyes complex. It seemed as if he was leaving him with a choice, but Draco knew all too well how much did he treasure his sister.

There was no way he would refuse.

"Wait"

Draco halted his steps, looking back.

"You forgot to pay for the orange juice."

A few veins popped on his forehead.

This bastard.

***

Adam stared at his little sister laying on a bed. Her skin was extremely pale, which made her almost seem lifeless. In fact, for the past three years, she had been like a dead person. She didn't talk, nor did she open her eyes.

The only reason she remained alive was because medics were forcefully transferring mana into her body every day. It hurt Adam to see his little sister lying in the bed alone like that, but he could change that now.

Perhaps that was truly impossible and believing that kid was just his way of not having to face the harsh truth, but it was truly his last hope. He took out his phone and dialed a number.

That kid was extremely mysterious and dangerous from his observations, but there was no other option anymore. He had to force himself to believe in him, or else he would truly go insane.

"Oh, you called sooner than expected."

Adam heard a voice coming from the other side.

He took a deep breath.

"What do I have to do?"