Elaine had woken up after a short, very refreshing nap...

She got off the bed, dressed in light blue pajamas. Maya had been so nice to give them to her yesterday, just after a soaking bath.

Her throat felt parched — it seemed even an Awakened still needed to be hydrated.

She opened her door and walked right up to Maya’s room, but her hand froze right before she made the mistake of knocking.

’i can’t wake her up just for a cup of water...’ Elaine’s head swayed left and right. The hall was really empty and silent.

All the servants were absent. Simon had dismissed them the moment he heard from his son, trying to hide the fact that he was here.

Unknown to him, there was no need for this. Even if the Duskreavers knew of Seth’s whereabouts, they had been strictly ordered by the elders to refrain from antagonizing him any further.

Elaine’s eyes flashed in sudden reminder. She remembered distinctly the frame of a water dispenser residing in the living room.

Her eyes lit up. ’perfect, it would be cold too.’

She wasted no time heading straight to the living room.

She got a cup of chilled water, took deep refreshing sips, waves of refreshment rippling from her throat down to her abdomen.

Her tensed body relaxed, and she raised her hands, her legs on their tiptoes. She stretched, eyes closed, a soft smile cracking her ever-cold expression...

A brilliant light flashed. The light of the Origin Gate unraveled, spitting out Brandon.

"Fuck that bitch! Next time the one who’s gonna be doing the whipping will be me!" He cursed, a heat of aggrieved fury smoldering in his heart.

But then his eyes caught sight of something. Both his eyes and Elaine’s eyes met.

Both figures froze...

Brandon’s eyes widened, he swallowed hard. The fury of loss and the stinging pain assaulting him dissipated for a second.

Never in his three years of knowing this girl had he seen her in anything but the school uniform or formal wear.

But this? Tsk tsk tsk, who knew Miss Pompous could be this cute!

His eyes trailed down. Elaine was just stretching, so naturally the top of her pajamas had lightly parted, revealing her flawless slender waist and unblemished beautiful pale skin.

Blood dripped from Brandon’s nose as he felt a wave of heat rush down to his little guy.

Elaine, on the other hand, quickly arranged her shirt, obscuring the graceful sight. For a second Brandon could definitely swear he saw a wave of blush on her cheeks.

Her eyes suddenly went cold as she glared back at him.

But what followed made him doubt, as a chill encroached on his little guy, freezing it stiff.

Brandon shivered, his hands guiding it. He hissed, pointing at her with one arm, the other still guarding his jewels.

"Y-you wench! Is this how you treat a badly injured teammate!"

Brandon’s words seemed to finally make her notice. He was pretty haggard, blood and bruises all over.

His face lined with a healing laceration. For a moment, a hint of concern flickered in the depths of her icy gaze.

But the scene from earlier flashed in her mind, and her gaze went cold.

’even injured you still find a way to remain a prick. Hmph, you deserved it.’

Luckily, the doors swung open and a figure stepped inside.

Brandon’s eyes lit up. "Big bro, over here!" He waved furiously at Seth, as though hoping his presence could save him from further consequences.

"Hmph!" Elaine snorted once more, this time audibly, and walked away.

Brandon couldn’t help but steal a glance at her receding silhouette.

All this while in school, Elaine always had this cold air about her.

Like a saint looking down on the rest. Though so beautiful, no one dared ask her out, even if she had many admirers.

Brandon, for one, never gave her a second glance. He was a delinquent, a player, with many ladies on his lap.

So he never thought much of Elaine, seeing her as a boss babe — something that definitely wasn’t his type.

But today, Brandon stared at her figure in a new light, for the first time finding her attractive.

A hand landing on his shoulder snapped him out of this train of thought though.

Waves of pain flared once more. "Arghhh." He wailed, his legs finally giving out without the gene armament to support them.

Seth quickly retracted his arm, wearing an apologetic expression. "What happened to you?"

Brandon gathered himself off the expensive fur carpet, throwing himself onto a nearby sofa. He sighed in reply, "Let everyone come. I don’t think I can narrate my tale twice."

Seth’s eyes scanned Brandon’s battered figure. He nodded slightly in understanding.

"Why don’t you just try absorbing an essence crystal? It’s sure to boost your vitality." He suggested.

Brandon’s face went dark, remembering his lack of loot despite his staggering amount of kills.

"I-I didn’t get any... my situation was that bad."

Now Seth’s curiosity was aroused, but he couldn’t start milking answers out of Brandon — not yet, not in this state.

So he just nodded and summoned a handful of crystals, what he had left. "Here, have these then..." he offered.

Brandon didn’t stand on ceremony. "Big bro is the best." He hailed after snatching the glistening blue crystals, as though in a hurry before Seth changed his mind.

Seth nodded at him once more. After ascertaining he was okay, he was about to leave the living room once more.

But Brandon called him back. "Um... Seth, I need to ask you something."

Seth’s brows raised. ’now that’s a first!’ He couldn’t recall when last Brandon called him by name.

He turned around to see a straight-faced Brandon, a familiar face he had seen not too long ago in the academy auditorium room.

When Brandon was like this, devoid of his ever-playful facade, it meant he was dead serious.

And what could he want to know, and why? Seth was curious.

"What?"

Brandon frowned as though pondering something. Then he posed his question. "What’s our next move from here?"

Brandon really didn’t want to head back to the Origin Realm. He would just return to where he left.

He needed to know if there was a way he could get stronger before their next trip to the higher dimension.

But that would be determined by Seth. After all, by default, based on strength and competence, Seth was the de facto leader of their small cohort.

Seth smiled. "So it was this? Yeah, I was thinking of answering the government’s call. Why did you ask?"

Brandon sighed in relief. He was half expecting Seth to say something like they would be going right back to the Origin Realm. After all, one couldn’t deny that place had countless times more opportunities than Earth.

And not to add, it was more thrilling and exciting. ’you even get to interact with aliens, there’s no beating that.’

Brandon sighed internally. But fortunately, Seth didn’t think they should head back right away.

"Sigh... my situation is quite unique. If I am to escape where I’m at, I need to get stronger."

Listening to such a reply, Seth was already coming up with a very close conclusion of Brandon’s predicament.

’he must have landed in a region of monsters beyond his strength...’ Seth’s eyes flashed.

He frowned. ’with Earth’s current situation, it might still be too weak to provide enemies and resources that could make us stronger.’

On this point, in truth, Seth wasn’t really sure. So he decided not to break the news to Brandon, and just see how things played out.

Worse comes to worse, they would have to find a way to save him from whatever predicament he was in.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to be curious about Brandon’s situation for long. The door swung open and four figures trailed in.

Uriel, Jack, Maya, and Elaine — who had just changed.

Brandon didn’t waste time and began his narration.