The Talk

The late evening quickly fell over Pearlcrest City.

At this point, many residents were already home, safety tucked away from the approaching dangerous nightfall.

There were only a few remaining stragglers still out and about in the streets, either working late jobs or heading home. One of these few late stragglers was Asher.

Typically, during these late even workings, Asher would never feel a hint of nerves.

After all, he had already braved the incoming horrors of the night. And with his new prowess, he was half-attempted to roam the night streets again. Fighting that masked creature was a valuable battle experience than most Mana monsters he encounters.

However, as of now, Asher felt increasingly nervous as he headed towards a specific destination. His nerves weren't because he was going to fight or really doing anything action-oriented.

No, the reason for his surging tension was because he was simply going to have a chat with Reese and Kylee. His two best friends that he knows for years and surely shouldn't ever have any problems with talking to.

However, from the suspenseful accumulation of not talking to them for a few days already, it gave birth to several concerning ideas in Asher's mind.

Ever since that day he went with the Ranking Geniuses, Asher had always wondered if he could've done something different.

More than anything, Asher could tell his far surpassing prowess was a jumbled issue weighing on their minds. And after today's Potential Assembly, he could only imagine how they're feeling right now.

Still, with how long they knew each other for, Asher had assurance he could speak through to them. Even if they both wanted to make a sudden rash decision, he would offer a more reasonable alternative.

With that thought in mind, Asher took quick steps to their meeting destination, which Kylee texted him to meet up at the Ice Cream cafe shop.

Soon enough, after walking for a few minutes, the Ice Cream Cafe shop was within Asher's sights.

From his distance, Asher could already spot Reese and Kylee sitting at one of the empty tables. Usually, he would be glad to see their familiar faces. But now, they both were spouting grave expressions.

And like they used their Aura Sense to notice him, both Reese and Kylee snapped their eyes over to him. When their gazes landed on him, their moods only worsened.

Even from far away, Asher could tell there were so many mixed emotions running through their very eyes.

The previous assurance he had was started to slowly wilt away; their solemn looks weren't something he was accustomed to at all.

Asher slowed his walking speed, trying to come up with a solution before their talk even began.

But, a relationship expert, he was not.

Really, Asher only had Reese, Kylee, and Elsa as his fellows' peers to talk to.

When he tried to recall whatever memories from his personal family that could help him out here, nothing useful came up, and more negative things came up.

In a split second, Asher cleared thoughts of his family, but his mind only became increasingly confused.

As Asher desperately tried to seek an answer, Yuki, who's been a bit quiet since his time with Elsa, had finally decided to speak up.

'My, my. I can sense the melodrama from a mile away. And to think, you're so confused when the solution is so easy.' Yuki's tone was calm, confident, and a hint of mystery.

Though she always has an evident disdain for all humans, Asher could tell, just because Reese and Kylee are his friends, she can let up with them.

Although, when it comes to beauties like Elsa or Vice-Principal Mia, her tone becomes more whimsical with them.

Barring her shifting moods, Asher focused on Yuki, asking her, 'Haah….I may not have the highest EQ, but I can tell they're both most likely thinking of distancing themselves from me. I can't come up with any reasonable solution, but what do you mean you can quickly settle this?'

'Hmmm….well, it's very simple but also complicated. Because of your overwhelming kindness and their overwhelming normality, you can give them a chance. In fact, this will be a chance for all three of us. That is, to make a permanent upgrade to our Talent!'

'Wha??'

Asher nearly tripped over himself, almost wanting to shout his outburst out loud. He probably looked odd on the outside and to Reese and Kylee, but he didn't care.

In an increasing fervent tone, Asher started to ask Yuki, 'Can-can you really do that?! But wait….all three of us? Since you stopped my Talent from flowing previously, I already assumed my Talent is high enough?'

'Hm!' Yuki began to huff slightly as if she was a bit offended.

'Honestly, Asher, even with our Talent so high, we can and will always aim for higher. By the way, don't get too pumped over this idea, you know, something like this comes with many difficulties.'

As Yuki's tone turned more professional, Asher focused up to pay attention.

Yuki continued to say, 'Upgrading our Talent will require a System Mission, and I don't really need to explain more there about the risks, do I? Plus, those brats will need to be trained or at least given some good equipment if they even want to make it to the mission point with you.'

Asher nearly became slow as a snail while he deeply contemplated this matter.

Reese and Kylee's mentality isn't used to hardcore violence, blood, or gore. Moreover, Asher had never really taught anybody in his life.

But right then, two ideas spawned in Asher's mind on how he could deal with this matter efficiently and quickly. Later on, he reminded himself to talk to Elsa and ask her all about tips on teaching someone.

Admittedly, though he always wanted to fight on his own, Elsa does give out rather good advice that helps him in the long run.

With his firm mindset and newfound determination, Asher strolled right up to Reese and Kylee's cafe table.

Reese and Kylee had odd expressions since Asher was walking so weird previously, and now he suddenly decided to step up so fast to them.

Still, the issues weighing on their minds got them to ignore that strange moment.

Kylee cast a brief gaze to Asher's eyes before looking back down to the table. Her expression turned back to a grave one as she began to say,

"Asher….we want to-"

"Before you two start, let me ask you two something."

Asher had swiftly cut off Kylee, causing her and Reese to lift their gazes up at him. There was a certain captivating yet firm tone in Asher's voice that didn't allow them to ignore what he was about to say.

With their attention on him, Asher began to ask, "Tell me, how do you two think I got so immensely strong in just a mere two days? Because two days before, I was so pathetically weak that Jayline could've crushed me like a bug."

Reese and Kylee paused, rapidly blinking their eyes as they deeply mulled over Asher's words. Not only them, but almost everyone was wondering how the hell his strength explosively grew so much in just a few days.

Students and Professors alike just had to assume it was because Asher had a Peak Stage Earth Tier talent and he must've come upon some extremely lucky chance.

Although, even that explanation was a stretch of the imagination.

This was especially weird to Reese and Kylee since they believed they had a far better grasp over Asher's prowess since they constantly hung out with him.

Even after trying to come up with all sorts of reasonable explanations, Reese and Kylee just had to give up.

Nothing made sense in their minds, so Reese slumped his shoulders with a shrug and answered Asher with, "I don't know man….did you just have some god descending luck in the woods?"

A slight smirk formed on Asher's face as he now got their full attention.

"I suppose you can say it was like that. Just look at your phones."

Immediately when he said so, Asher took out his own phone and sent a text at lightning speeds to Reese and Kylee.

Though there weren't many around their area, Asher was cautious in saying a secret so casually out in the open.

Even though he had numerous problems with his family, Asher can at least admit this phone, which was explicitly crafted by them, is incredibly useful.

No matter what information Asher sends to them, it will be perfectly protected from anything. Although, he did still tell them both to delete the message as soon as they saw it.

Asher didn't even have any second doubts about telling Reese and Kylee his System's Soul secret, considering, just like Elsa, he knows these two for numerous years.

There was an unspeakable trust between them, so Asher was assured his secret is safe with them.

Reese and Kylee felt a mixture of oddness and anticipation when Asher apparently texted them this great secret.

Immediately when their phone buzzed, they both whipped it out in an instant. Upon reading what Asher wrote to them, their eyes nearly burst out of their sockets.

Before they looked back at Asher, they both instantly deleted the message, almost afraid that someone else might see it.

"You got-you got-Ah!"

Kylee stopped herself mid-sentence and quickly calmed herself down. Trying to keep a more even tone, she asked,

"But-but how?? I've heard only special legends….oh….right."

Asher could only lightly smile when seeing both Reese and Kylee's faces lit up in dawning realization.

"Yep. I am very lucky to have received this. And you know….this luck can spread to both of you."

Reese and Kylee went rigid, their minds nearly not believing what Asher had just said. They both wanted to make another exclaim of shock but held it in again because they're in a public space.

Still, Reese and Kylee leaned in towards Asher, and Reese partially hissed out, "How?? No, wait….this can't be for sure, man. I mean….we barely know anything about how this works."

Kylee was in cautious agreement as she nodded, saying to Asher, "It most obviously worked out so well for you. But….how can you be so sure it will work for us?"

Asher's expression turned a more chilling calm. He peered right into Reese and Kylee's eyes as he said,

"You two….before I showed you this. You two had the intention of breaking things off with me, right?"

Exposed red-handed, Reese and Kylee completely froze up. Anxiety began to swirl in their chests while their expressions turned back downcasted. Kylee spoke first before Reese and tried to say,

"It's-it's because we will only burden you, Asher! Just look at us….we're simply common whelp, and you? You're-"

"I get it. You two are afraid. Afraid of numerous things, right?" Asher sharply cut off Kylee, adding more steel to his tone.

That steel tone once again pulled Reese and Kylee's attention on Asher, neither of them wanting to miss anything he had to say.

Asher continued to talk but in a firmer tone of voice. "Look, I won't say I just know how you feel because I don't. Things like these honestly could never affect me much. But, what if I told you, from this, I can change your talents permanently."

For a brief moment, a split second of hope crossed Reese and Kylee's expression. But immediately the next second, they both became depressed as their minds dig deeper into what Asher texted them about.

"Oh come on, Asher. You know there's no free lunch in our world. Changing our Talent permanently sounds nice. But, I can only see it leading to our deaths." Reese spoke out his reasonable doubts.

"Sure it will. But weren't you two determined to join a sector special Academy? That could also potentially lead to death?" Asher fired right back without missing a beat.

Reese and Kylee tightly gripped their knuckles. Their teeth began to clench, and Kylee spoke up this time.

"I-we-I just don't know! We've really only come to the Competition year because of your encouragement Asher. But goals, our future, we just, I don't think we could-"

"Look."

Asher's voice went partially soft as he interrupted her this time.

"Think of it like this. Do you think the Kane Gang will stop trying to come after you two? I may be on the Ranking List, but I also can tell they hold a lot more weight around the Academy than any of us knows. Why do you think they could act so unruly most of the time?"

"I mean….isn't it because they're all so powerful?" Reese naturally said as it was what he had always assumed about the Kane Gang.

But Asher shook his head and explained to them, "No….their boss must have some sort of decently powerful backing. Just today, Jayline would've specifically targeted you two, done unjust, brutal things, yet nothing would've happened to him."

A small surge of anger had suddenly ignited in Kylee's chest. She began to recall that cold, chilling gaze Jayline pushed on them during the Potential Assembly.

A twinge of anger mixed in within her voice as she said, "And they only want us to get to you. Just because we associate with you, they want to destroy us all!"

Asher severely nods but felt some hope from feeling anger spiking from both Reese and Kylee.

He had then laid it all out to them. "You guys have two options. Either go with your initial plan and break things off with me. This way, the Kane Gang will just understand we have no association. Or, accept my offer, train with me, and go on to change your Talent no matter the risks."

Reese and Kylee fell back in their seats, going completely silent. Asher's words boomed around in their minds; neither of them could possibly come up with such a life-changing decision as of now.

Losing Asher forever would severely impact their mental state. This was their best friend for years! They forged a bond that simply wouldn't go away overnight.

But on the other hand, their other options are overcoming their fears and face potential death.

Asher could just see the apparent dilemma swirling within Reese and Kylee's minds. Not wanting to force them to a decision, he swiftly turned around and began to walk off.

As he did so, Asher told them, "I won't force anything and leave it all up to you guy's decision. But remember, the Kane Gang is ruthless, and I can't be everywhere at once.

Without delaying any further, Asher began to walk home.

However, before he got far, he heard Reese shout out to him, saying, "Asher! Just….just give us a few days to think over this!"

Kylee had immediately followed up with, "Yea! We-we just need to get our minds in order!"

Asher half turns around, giving his friend a patient smile. "Take all the time you need. I'll be here, waiting for whatever decision you decide on."

With his final piece said, Asher continued back heading on home, leaving Reese and Kylee in deep contemplation.