Nevin Crowley

"Only he wasn't seen?" Max frowned, a knot of concern tightening in his chest. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong—something had happened to him.

William, Zixi, and Henry knew exactly who Nevin was to Max, but none of them offered words of consolation. They understood the harsh reality of dungeon life—death could come for anyone, regardless of their bonds or status.

Max took a deep breath and sighed before turning to William, Zixi and Henry. "Let's clean this battlefield up and enter this building. I believe this building is the way to the boss room in the dungeon."

They nodded and asked everyone to collected all the cores from the battlefield. 

After that some cores were distributed to the students who fought desperately against these goblins while some were held by the trio themselves. They also gave a portion of the cores to Max along with the items came dropped from the goblins.

"I suggest we increase our level to level 3 before heading into that structure." Zixi said to Max and William.

"Sure." Max agreed with her before turning to look at all the students gathered around them.

Turning to Zixi, he said solemnly. "I am sure not everyone is needed into the boss room so asked them not to follow us into the building when we are going inside otherwise if they die we couldn't be held responsible for their lives."

Zixi nodded. She had already planned to do that.

"Good. I am going to level up." Max said smiling and requested. "Please, can you make it so that no one follows me there even William and Henry."

Zixi frowned at the sudden request but she nodded nonetheless.

Max smiled and went away from the gathering of students and arrived somewhere far away in an isolated place.

Looking around for one last time and finding no one around him, Max sat down and took out all the cores he had gotten after killing the goblins just now.

"Most of them were level 2 cores while five of them were level 3 cores." He checked the cores and began absorbing them one by one in the hopes of getting to level 3.

But as fate would have it even after he absorbed all the level 2 cores and the five level 3 cores, he didn't level up to level 3.

"Well, I have already knew I wouldn't level up but seeing it turn into reality is cruel." Max sighed and stood up.

He looked into the cloudless green sky and felt a complicated emotion in his heart.

"You can come out now." He said lightly.

But nothing happened.

"I know you have been keeping an eye on me since I met with William and the others so there is no point hiding now." Max said looking towards a certain direction. "I know it's Nevin. Come out now."

Again nothing seemed to happen and most importantly nobody came out.

Seeing that Max sighed and fired a magic bullet towards where he was looking.

Just as the bullet was about to reach that point a figure came out of nowhere and stood before Max.

"How did you know it was me?" Nevin asked with a faint smile, his messy black hair shifting in the wind. His usually drooped eyes seemed darker, almost lifeless.

Max gazed at him, disappointment etched on his face. "I've known from the very beginning. Your timing was too perfect—you appeared just when I lost contact with my sister two years ago. That kind of coincidence is hard to ignore. But back then, I wasn't completely sure."

Nevin's expression darkened, his smile fading. "Then why didn't you question me?" he demanded, his voice rising with every word. "Why did you let me become your best friend? Why did you treat me like a brother? Was everything between us just a joke to you? A game?"

"Haha, a game?" Max's laugh was dry, almost hollow. "You tell me, Nevin. Was it all a lie from the very beginning? What was your motive? Why did you want to get close to me? And most importantly, are you somehow tied to my sister's disappearance?" His voice carried a biting chill as he stared Nevin down.

Nevin lowered his head, clenching his fists.

When he spoke, his voice was a mix of anger and despair. "Why?" he hissed. "Why, even after knowing I'm an assassin, did you treat me like a brother? Like a best friend? Why?"

Max looked at him, his calm demeanor a sharp contrast to Nevin's rage. "Because I wasn't sure," he admitted. "I didn't know if you truly meant me harm. So I let you do as you pleased. Before I realized it, we became friends. Then best friends. And then... brothers."

Max's gaze softened, his voice tinged with melancholy. "When you started coming over to my house, it filled a void I didn't even realize I had. The loneliness of living alone... it disappeared. I treasured those nights we stayed up playing games, sometimes all night in VR. Those were some of the best days of my life."

Nevin's teeth clenched as he tried to process Max's words. "Lie! Everything you say is a lie! You never trusted me, did you?" He spat bitterly. "Was it all just an act? Did you ever truly think of me as your brother?"

Max didn't answer immediately. His silence was louder than words.

"What?" Nevin's voice cracked. "Say something! Tell me the truth before I end this farce!" His eyes burned red with fury.

Max sighed deeply, his expression clouded with conflicted emotions. "It's... complicated," he said, his voice tinged with the weight of the past two years. "In the beginning, I let you do as you pleased because it was clear you wanted to be my friend. I didn't see the harm in it—or at least, I hoped there wasn't any. But there was always a part of me that couldn't ignore the timing of your appearance, the circumstances. Therefore I decided to follow the phrase, 'Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.'"

He paused, his gaze distant as if replaying the memories. "I thought if I kept you close, I could watch you. That over time, I'd understand your true intentions. Whether you were really a threat... or someone I could trust."

Max sighed when he reached this point. "But in doing that, I let things grow complicated. Too complicated."

"So it's true." Nevin's laugh was bitter and hollow. "You never considered me your brother. It was all a lie."

"No," Max said firmly, shaking his head. "That's not true. Everything we shared—the laughter, the games, the camaraderie—it was all real. I did see you as my brother. I did care for you. But..."

"But what?" Nevin interrupted with rage.

"But I never trusted you," Max said coldly.

Nevin's face twisted in pain and anger.

"I was always cautious," Max continued, unflinching. "Always prepared for a knife in the back. At the academy, I felt safer, but when you stayed over at my house... I couldn't sleep. I spent every night awake, terrified that you'd attack me in my sleep. That is how you staying at my house became both cherished memories as well as a living nightmare for me."

"That's why you always insisted we spend the whole night in VR," Nevin muttered, the realization hitting him like a blow. "You couldn't trust me enough to sleep."

"You left me no choice," Max replied, his tone even. "If I confronted you and you were caught, whoever sent you might send someone worse—a real hunter—to deal with me. And if I was wrong, if you weren't an assassin... I'd lose my brother and my friend. I couldn't risk either. So, I waited."

Nevin gritted his teeth, his emotions a storm threatening to break free. "You were scared of me," he said bitterly. "You kept me close out of fear, not trust. That's what our friendship was built on?"

Max's voice softened, though his gaze remained steady. "It was built on more than that, Nevin. It was built on hope. Hope that I was wrong about you. Hope that you'd prove me wrong."

For a moment, silence fell between them, heavy with the weight of unspoken emotions but it was soon broken by Nevin.