The banquet hall shimmered with gold, music drifting like perfume in the air. Guests in elegant suits and gowns mingled beneath chandeliers of light, and the scent of roasted meats, spiced wines, and sweet desserts filled the space.

Amidst all the glamour and noise, Orion sat quietly.

There was no wine or meat at his table.

Just steamed vegetables, lined neatly across a white porcelain plate.

His back was straight, posture was calm. But his gaze never left the food. No idle scanning of the crowd. And he seemed alone.

Despite being the only person in the entire top sixteen to defeat Skylar, despite the storm of attention from journalists, whispers of the Buddha form and the Baphomet transformation, no one approached him for some reason.

No guilds.

No recruiters.

No schools.

He didn't know the reason, but then again, he seemed like he didn't care. Orion was perfectly comfortable sitting alone.

From across the hall, Selene glanced his way. She nudged Fiona and whispered, "Why is he so quiet?"

Fiona shrugged. "Who knows? I tried probing what happened to him so many times, but he wouldn't tell me. I believe his personality change is because of that thousand-handed form of his."

Selene frowned. "I like this current him, but at the same time, hate it."

Fiona couldn't help but chuckle. "I know what you are talking about."

It was then that Selene suddenly pointed her finger. "Oh, look at it. That girl is approaching him…"

Meanwhile, at Orion's table, a chair scraped beside him.

He looked up to see Elise carrying her own plate filled with Grilled mushrooms, sautéed greens, and a bit of white fish.

She smiled gently. "Hope this seat isn't taken."

Orion shook his head. "Not at all."

She sat down, crossing her legs and glancing around at the swirling activity in the hall. "So… they're all pretending not to see you, huh?"

Orion chuckled softly, not offended. "Something like that."

Elise forked a mushroom and gave him a glance. "Do you know why?"

He smiled faintly. "I suppose… I could think of a couple of reasons, but they don't matter anyway. In the end, those who wish to converse will converse, just like how you approached me."

She studied him for a second longer before leaning slightly in, resting an elbow on the table. "Well, I was here, just a bit out of curiosity. What are your future plans after this?"

Orion replied straightly. "I'm going to the Tower of Abel."

That made Elise pause. "Wait… what? The Tower of Abel? That Tower of Abel?"

He nodded.

She blinked. "Were you scouted?"

Orion considered. "Yes… and no."

Now she was curious. "Don't do the cryptic monk thing. It's weird…"

He set down his fork and said calmly, "A few days ago, I was taken in as the personal disciple of the Tower Master."

The mushroom on her fork dropped back onto her plate. "What?"

Orion just gave a wry smile.

"You're joking."

"I'm not."

"Since when?!"

"After the Round of 32."

Elise leaned back in her chair, dazed. "So let me get this straight. You, Orion, the guy who entered this tournament as the least known name in the top 32, are now the disciple of the Tower of Abel's Master?

Orion calmly picked up a boiled carrot. "That's about right."

Elise burst out laughing. "Gods, what kind of broken protagonist script are you following?!"

Orion smiled genuinely now. "Just… following where the world takes me."

Her eyes widened, getting caught off guard by his reply. It was kinda strange to hear such things from a 17-year-old.

She twirled her fork and gave him a grin. "You know, I think you're the only guy here who didn't try to flirt with me."

Orion blinked. "I… didn't know I was supposed to."

She laughed again, louder this time. "Seriously? After we slept together?"

Orion blinked once. The words took a few seconds to settle.

Elise, as ever, was blunt.

Her tone wasn't seductive. It wasn't teasing either. It was just… honest.

He looked at her carefully. "I didn't expect you to say that."

She shrugged, rolling a piece of grilled mushroom on her plate. "Why not? You asked. I answered. I don't believe in pretending something didn't happen just because it's inconvenient for you, now."

Orion nodded slowly as he replied. "Not inconvenient, just surprised."

Elise continued, more quietly, "You're stronger and calmer. But a little less fun now to the point it's off-putting."

Orion gave a sheepish chuckle. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Elise sighed, shaking her head. "That was not a compliment. Had you been you from before, I would just take you to bed after the party."

He tilted his head. "I believe I mentioned before that between us would be the last time I will ever have sex." After a brief pause, he added. "Anyways, in a way, because we had a one-night stand and you didn't wake me up and left at dawn, I ended up going through things and became the disciple of Abel Tower, which led me to get the power of attaining Natural energy Manipulation. So, in a way, you did a favor for me, and we are connected by Karma. How do you want it to be repaid?"

She shrugged. "Forget it. I'll just consider it like I helped out a friend."

They fell into silence for a while. Then Elise added, "well, if you would have been the same Orion I knew, I suppose I could ask you for another round of sex because you were truly amazing at it and a lot better than my ex, I thought of just fooling around because I was a bit depressed but you really know how to please a lady and not just directly ram her with force. But now your behavior is just a bit off-putting. I don't lack money, I suppose I can also ask you to put a good word wth your master so that I can join Abel Tower, too, but I already signed the agreement with WAMO. Can't risk it unless I can get the position of an inner disciple in the Tower. Other than these two, I don't see anything that I can ask from you."

Orion regarded her a bit and replied. "I can give you a skill card that I received as a reward, though. DO you think that can erase the favor you did upon me?"

Elise's eyes widened, and her lips quivered. "The skill card? Are you serious? It's a Rank-9 skill card."

Orion responded by taking it out he was carrying in his pockets. He placed it on the table and pushed it toward her. "Here, you can take it."

"Are you really giving this to me?" Elise's hands completely shivered as she reached out to the card, but then retracted her hand back, fighting against the temptation. "No, Orion. My favor isn't that great to compare it to such a treasure. It's worth over ten million credits."

Orion simply shrugged without a change in his expression. "it is alright. It won't be useful to me. I actually don't have soul energy. I can't activate this card even if I want to. Come on, just take it."