The pig is born.

Because of the light rain that fell during the night a small pool of water formed on the surface of the open window. Lazlo looked at the snoozing fluffy black cat underneath it, basking in the morning sun.

His eyes shined with the glint of pettiness and he threw a silent punch.

His arm moved like a normal jab but the wind seemed to be hit, and the weight of the punch traveled all the three meters and closed the window with a bang, letting the cool droplets of water fell on the cat.

"HISS!!!" It jumped up in rage.

"You dare start shouting injustice!?" Lazlo pointed a finger "The only day I chose to sleep instead of meditating, you chose to run around and wreak havoc on the house? You did it on purpose because I bought the carrot flavored cat food right!?"

The cat turned its face and stretched leisurely, completely ignoring Lazlo, who squinted.

"Tsk, don't go pretending not to understand me... petty bastard." Lazlo threw the cat a scoff and turned to the door.

Together with the sound of the door closing came the sound of glass falling down.

"Bastard!" Lazlo shoved the door open, but the cat was already on the other side of the window. Before jumping to the neighbor's balcony, it flashed Lazlo what resembled a toothy grin and pompously walked away.

"What a petty and lazy thing."

Contrary to his scolding, there was a smile on Lazlo's face

He didn't look at the mess and just left. Descending the four-story building's stairs.

The small lobby was filled with people talking on small plastic tables.

As soon as Lazlo appeared, a plate of thick bacon covered in melted cheese was put on the counter of the cafe, behind it, a middle-aged woman smiled at him with sympathy in her eyes.

Ruth eyed the 1,82 cm tall twenty years old. Seeing him coming down the stairs in his usual simple jeans pants and a plain t-shirt. He seemed to be the same as usual, but Ruth knew how well he hides his thoughts, so she made a special meal for the day.

Reading her mind, he smiled and patted her hand,

"Don't worry aunt Ruth, My spirit not developing is just a delay, I'll soon make do and will be missing your meals in the first realm."

So he said, and so casually at that. But Ruth didn't answer and just stared at him. She didn't doubt he could do as he said, for even though he grew up as an Orphan, he established a small power in the periphery of the city at the age of eighteen and it's only growing until now.

He trains and studies arduously since the Orphanage. She cooked him food along his path and saw him conquer a lot, but now, at the peak of the mortal realm, at the most important point of youth, his spirit didn't develop. Making it impossible for him to enter an immortal school and wander among dragons and phoenixes.

"Even if you can't become an immortal, you reached the peak of the mortal state, you'll live up to two hundred years with ease, it's more than enough to build any kind of life you want."

She held his hand that was about to fork the bacon and spoke with care.

He looked up at her eyes.

'Any life I want?' Lazlo thought while remembering the videos and documentaries he watched of the first explorations through the discovered realms, the highlight of the firsts pioneers' live streams, and the invasion of the Orcs from the second realm on earth. He didn't need to think, his twisting stomach told him enough. The life of being the biggest shark on a pond was no different than a prisoner adorning his cage with beautiful furniture for him.

But looking at the caring eyes he could only nod with a smile.

"As long as aunt keeps cooking for me, I'll be fine."

As she smiled, Lazlo saw a sneaky shoulder on the coffee house's kitchen door. A mischievous light shined in his eyes.

"In fact," He took Ruth's both hands on his, and looked at her with love "If Aunt marries me, I won't ever think of leaving the mortal realm."

She didn't speak, astounded by the development.

"I KNEW IT! YOU WERE FLIRTING WITH THAT BRAT AGAIN!!"

A voice thundered out of the kitchen and threw a piece of meat at Lazlo. Ruth took the meat midair and threw back "Don't you dare hit him Old dog!"

"You're defending him! You're actually defending him!"

Ruth annoyedly looked at the grinning Lazlo while trying to calm her husband down. She was forty, but the beast meat Lazlo sells to them keeps them young despite not cultivating. So it wasn't that weird her husband was jealous.

While they discussed two young men entered the Lobby.

"I told you he has a thing for a married woman, that's why he shows no interest in other women. Pay up." A rough and loud voice came in chuckling.

"Don't come to me with that, he teases the old coot almost every day, it proves nothing. It'll take more tha speculations for me to pay up." A more subtle voice followed.

The first man, Rozario is 1,90 tall and strong like a bodybuilder, while the other, Hugo, is slim and has a height of 1,79.

One attracted attention even if he lowered his voice while the other wouldn't stay in anyone's sight for more than a few seconds before fading into the background.

By the time they sat down on the counter, Ruth had soothed the angry old man with a gentle whisper on his ear. When she turned her back with a light blush on her cheeks the old man sneakily send a thumb's up to Lazlo and happily whistled back into the kitchen.

"Men are no good..."

"A- haha--"

Lazlo forced an awkward laugh to aunt Ruth's daughter, Merilyn, that muttered while cleaning a table behind him. She saw their sneaky exchange.

"What were you guys betting on?" Aunt Ruth asked as Rozario and Hugo were reading the menu.

Hugo motioned with his chin at Lazlo. "If that fella shows no concern for a woman in one year, he's an asexual and I win. But if Rozario can find out Lazlo's hidden fetish he wins."

"What, now that I think about it, I never saw him going after a girl," Ruth said and looked at Lazlo with curiosity.

Hugo nodded along. "Exactly! And I'm winning. Yesterday, before the list of talent ranking was shown, Lily Basgo, one of the most beautiful girls in our school, declared her love to him. Lazlo gave her a pat on the shoulder and proceeded to explain to her why she couldn't win the tournament and corrected the third move of her sword style. then left the confused girl alone."

Ruth looked at Lazlo dumbfounded. He frowned.

"Had she come to me before the tournament, she'd be listed second or third in the ranks, not fifth."

Even Marilyn stopped working and gazed at him astounded.

Rozario sighed beside Hugo, his sad green eyes coupled with his huge frame, gathered attention instantly.

With a depressed look, he spoke. "Talking about women, I think my second girlfriend broke our agreement and got herself a third lover."

Ruth shook her head and ignored as the other people in the Coffe house cursed him.

Hugo scoffed and spoke trying to put more maturity on his 18 years old face. "Immoral! The right relationship to have is one wife and children like yours truly."

"You got me pregnant when we were fifteen, what are you so proud about," Marylin added from the side.

"I'm a family man!"

They bickered and others laughed.

Lazlo watched with a sincere smile on the side. With his spirit not developing, he wasn't even put on the talent rank list. Making it impossible to enter an immortal school and learning how to truly cultivate. He hadn't given up, but with the warmth in front of him, he felt it wouldn't be the end of the world if he couldn't cultivate.

But fate decided against his feelings.

"SO THIS IS WHERE YOUR KIND HANGS OUT LAZLO!"

A sudden loud voice rang from the entrance.

A young lad entered. Black curly hair with brown eyes,1,76 of height. His eyes were wide in clear excitement.

He entered with two golden armored knights following behind and slowly walked, looking around and nodding his head as if understanding something.

"A crammed coffee house inside a small four-story building's lobby. The decoration is on the poor management budget, so you don't need to care for the dying plants or the motel art on the walls, really seems like a place you would belong to, Lazlo."

The young man turned and stared into Lazlo's eyes.

"It met my expectations so well that I'm disappointed."

Silence took over the Coffe house. The ones who had jobs walked away, others who didn't but knew who the young man spoke excuses and left to avoid trouble, only the most clueless, talkative and daring stayed.

Lazlo took a sip of the juice and looked over.

"Hudson, came for a challenge?"

The young man, Hudson, laughed out loud

"I don't challenge wastes." His tone was biting, he was itching to see Lazlo's reaction.

But seeing nothing, Hudson scoffed. "Don't pretend to not understand, you damned trash. The fact your spirit hasn't developed spread like the wind, the people who were willing to back you had pulled off, the ones who invested in you will probably seek to take back whatever they can by any means."

Lazlo silently looked at the golden armored female knight behind Hudson. She was wearing a helmet but her blue eyes could be seen and she gave him the faintest of the nods.

'It's true...' Lazlo sighed inwardly but did not show on the surface and merely stood up from his stool.

Hudson stepped back in reflex. Both knights stepped forward.

Hudson became enraged by his own innate fear.

"Humpft! My talent is fifth in the ranking list! Development of 8,5! Yours didn't even form a bud to be measured! Every damn power in this country will protect me! What do you think they'll if a backwater tug like yo-"

Lazlo stopped one palm away from the knights' reach. His cold eyes diminished the courage on Hudon's voice, he went from loud to silent in instants.

Hudson bit his lips and summoned the rest of his courage, his eyes filled with venom.

"With my talent, I'll be an immortal before you reach your thirties, while you're eating tamed and farmed beast meat, I'll be hunting alongside dark elves. While you pay for models to lay with you, I'll have ten high elves as my concubines. The only thing you'll ever truly have is the honor to have defeated me when I started my path."

He said it with rising excitement, the glee in his eyes was visible. Seeing the surroundings go eerie silent he laughed as loudly as he could and walked back. He only wanted to give the bad news personaly.

But as he neared the exit, Lazlo spoke.

"It doesn't matter how happy you are right now, you won't ever be successful."

Hudson stopped and looked at Lazlo with a barely contained smile. He never managed to faze Lazlo, this was the first time he got a genuine response to his provocations. He was elated.

"And why wouldn't I be successful with a spiritual potential of 8,5 ?"

Lazlo smiled.

"Because you didn't defeat me," He continued. "You're not rejoicing because you defeated me, you're elated because the burden of having to defeat me was taken off your shoulders. That'll relax you, and you won't reach the goal you just said to me, and when you reach a dead-end the first thing you'll think is: Would Lazlo go beyond? And the overwhelming answer on your gut will be; yes, he would."

The smirk was wiped out of Hudson's face. Instead, Lazlo was laughing.

"I'll forever be your heart demon." Lazlo finished.

Without another word, Hudson left.

"His talent is like that, but his strength still the same, why didn't you teach him a lesson? People would know you still strong and won't cut relations." Marilyn asked.

Hugo and Rozario laughed while Hugo said: "Because he's a pervert who profit from attackers."

Aunt Ruth shook her head. 'At least he still the same.'

Only Marylin didn't understand.

"When people talk and the word spread about how I let him come and go as he liked, people will assume it's true about my talent and even better, will assume I'm weak because of it." Lazlo turned to her and finished with a grin on his lips. "It's the perfect time to filter our forces."

"Bullshit!" Rozario laughed as he cursed.

"Nonsense!" Hugo scoffed at Lazlo who put on an innocent face.

Ruth, that started washing the dishes smiled at Marilyn.

"What he said is true, by shaking the ship you'll know who'll hold with you and who will jump away. But that's just his excuse. Lazlo's objective is the pirates that'll attack his seemingly weak ship."

Marilyn suddenly widened her eyes in a different understanding.

Lazlo smiled.

"To eat shark meat, you have to shed some blood."

He said it as if imparting wisdom but she laughed.

"You're a pig." She said.

Lazlo's smile went stiff. "W-What?"

She jumped up and down in realization, pointed a finger at him while looking at Ruth, Hugo, and Rozario.

"Playing a pig to eat tigers!" She said excitedly;

The other's eyes soon opened wide with the realization.

"N-no it's more elaborated than tha-" Lazlo tried to quibble.

"YOU'RE A PIG!" Rozario yelled and roared with laughter.

"A pig! The youngest fella to form an underground organization is a pig!"

Hugo slammed the counter with tears running down his eyes.

Lazlo looked at Ruth for help, but she was laughing along.

"A pig!"

"Oink! oink! "

"HAHAHA!"

Lazlo sighed with annoyance and resigned himself to fate. And like he did with his cat, he ignored the mess, closed the door of the lobby and went out of the coffee shop.