I did it on purpose

Alex didn't know how to react to the current situation. He was too surprised when he heard that Asue could use mana injection.

It was a highly complex skill to learn, and even a person with its skill book couldn't necessarily use it.

'How could she use such a skill, and on top of that, use it so efficiently that it made a legendary fire go back on its contract. Was she always this talented?' Alex thought to himself.

Asue was a very talented mage when Alex first met her, and she was even able to upgrade her rare grade job to a legendary one. So by no means was she an ordinary person.

But using mana injection at this stage of the game? It was on a whole other level.

As he was in his own thoughts, everybody returned to their "homes," and Liam took Sid back to Alex's.

They sat, and after a few minutes, Sid was finally able to calm down and think straight. But he was still pissed. "I can't believe I trusted that b**," he whispered to himself.

"Watch your language, young man," Liam warned.

then Sid turned to Alex, "it's all your fault; you said I could trust her."

"oh please, don't be such a cry baby. There are far more important things than a legendary fire to get angry over," said Alex, "plus, you still have your hammer."

"But I wanted that fire too; it could have helped me so much."

"what's gone is gone; there is no point wasting time thinking about it. How about this? I will give you three epic materials to play with. Use it however you want."

"are you serious?" for a moment, Sid became so happy that he almost forgot about the fire and Asue, but then he remembered them again and got angry again, "I won't forgive her. don't ever ask me to make any equipment for her."

"ok, I won't," Alex promised and handed over the three epic materials.

He had planned on giving them to Liam since he was more experienced in forging and could make better use of them, but to shut Sid up, he had no choice. At the end of the day, he was only a 16-year-old kid.

Sid took the epic items and ran out of the room like a baby wanting to play with his new toys.

"thank you, and sorry about that," Liam said before following Sid and shouting, "if you think I would let you waste those precious materials, then you must be dreaming, young man."

"sigh, like father like son, I guess," Max exclaimed.

After Sid and Liam left the room, Max turned to Alex with a serious expression and said, "I want to talk to Asue as well. I don't believe she did it on purpose …."

"let's give her some space for now; we could talk to her tomorrow."

"ok, then I go back too; I want to see how's everything with the kids; I'm sure they are shaken up."

_ _ _ _ _ _

Inside Nano's SR room, Alex looked around, trying to grasp the things his eyes were seeing.

The empty space wasn't empty anymore. It was filled with antique furniture and stuff. It was like a grandma had gone shopping and couldn't decide on one thing, so she decided to buy the whole store.

But in this case, the store was the size of a stadium.

"do you like my new decoration? Sorry, it's still a little messy. Let me tidy up a little bit." Said Nano and took a vase from the floor and put it on a nearby table, "ah, now it's better, don't you agree?"

Alex didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "what is all this?" he asked, trying to make sense of his surroundings.

"isn't it obvious? Now that I have more freedom, I decided to decorate my place a little bit. Don't you like it?" Nano asked with a sweet smile.

"a little bit? You call this a little bit?" Alex took a deep breath and sighed, "anyway, that's not why I'm here. Have you noticed anything strange about Asue?"

"as you already know, I'm restricted by the rules. I can't tell you anything about other players."

"not even about her using mana injection?" Alex asked hopefully, "just a little hint is enough."

Alas, Nano's face remained impassive and didn't change at all, "I can't tell you anything."

"ok," Alex dropped the matter and looked around again, "do you need help with the decoration?"

Nano instantly became happy like a little girl, "sure, I'm already done here; let's go to the next room."

"next room???? Is this all just one room?"

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The following day, Alex and Max were sitting in Alex's living room waiting for Asue to come.

They had already given her enough space by not asking her any questions the previous day.

Now, it was time for answers.

When Asue entered the living room, her face was puffy, and her eyes were red. It was clear that she had been crying all night.

When Alex saw her in that condition, his heart tightened a little, but then he remembered all the things she had done to him in his previous life and came back to his senses.

Asue sat down behind the dining table where Alex and Max were sitting and looked at them with sad eyes.

"do you want to tell us what happened?" Max asked like a big brother, trying to comfort his little sister.

"I, I did it on purpose," Asue said without beating around the bush.

Alex and Max were surprised by her answer; they clearly didn't expect such a straightforward answer.

While Max was just surprised, Alex was also mad, "why did you do that?" he asked in an angry tone.

Asue was taken aback by the sudden anger directed at her; she never expected Alex to show her such hostility over such a small matter.

"Alex, calm down. I'm sure there is an explanation," Max intervened.

"what do you mean, explanation? She stole a legendary fire from someone who trusted her; she turned on her friends," at this point, even Alex himself didn't know if he was talking about the matters of this life or his previous one.

"just let her explain," Max said calmly, not losing his cool for even a second.

He truly was a natural-born leader.

"I, I wanted power. I didn't want to feel powerless ever again. I want to protect my mom; I don't want her to feel that she owes anything to anybody just because of my weakness. I have to prove my worth; I need to be more powerful."

Alex hurt became soft a little, but he still had his guards up against her. he would never be bitten twice from the same hole.

"you don't need to prove anything; you have already proven your worth, Asue. And I'm sure we all can agree that you are powerful," said Max.

"you just had to ask, and I would have helped you; you just needed to trust us," said Alex with an evident disappointment in his voice.

Asue didn't know what to say; she was mad at herself too, she didn't want to betray her friends ever again, but here she was, doing the same thing that had gotten her into that mess one more time.

The moment he took the fire from Sid, the temptation of power consumed her. she couldn't think clearly, all she wanted was power to protect her mom, and it was right in front of her. So, she took it.

She wished she hadn't done that; she wished that she could turn back in time one more time and stop herself from stealing that fire.

She knew Sid very well, she knew that unlike what many may believe based on his behavior, he would open his heart to other people easily, but if someone hurt him or the people he loved, he would never forgive them again.

Now, she had lost a friend. And for what? Power? What did it matter if she was powerful if she didn't have the people he loved by her side?

A single second of greed had cost her so much.

"I will do whatever it takes to gain back your trust. I'm truly sorry." Said Asue, determined to fix what she had broken. Again. 'I'm not going to mess up this chance too; I will make everything right.' She thought.

"ok, all that matters is that you understand your fault and are sorry. I will talk to Sid; I'm sure he would understand." Said Max trying to make her feel a little bit better.

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you," said Alex and looked at Asue, "Sid is a pretty simple guy, but if you hurt him, there would be almost no second chance; you better apologize sincerely. He wouldn't buy your excuses. I advise you to come clean now."

"I know; I will try my best."