Chapter 339 : Finally alone

    Alex was stumped.

    ''Just what the hell is going on here?'' he muttered under his breath, his mind struggling to process the absurdity of the situation.

    He had believed himself to be shocked before, but nothing compared to the sheer absurdity of the situation unfolding before his eyes.

    He simply couldn''t understand how Amelia, who had been at level 4 not long ago, now had twice her previous stats while only being level 2!

    It simply shouldn''t be possible!

    More than that, what was going on with her mana points? The system showed that she had 170 mana points, which, in reality, translated to 1700. That amount of mana was something only level 5 individuals should have!

    To ascend from level 4 to level 5, one needed exactly 1001 mana points. And yet, Amelia, despite sitting at an overwhelming 1700, was still level 2?!

    Something was very wrong here.

    It was as this thought crossed his mind that Alex suddenly recalled two crucial things.

    The first was the price the system had required from him to copy Amelia''s Cell Master ability.@@@@

    [Points needed to copy: 1,000,000,000 soul points]

    The second thing was something that lunatic from Night—the one Amelia and Anna had confronted—had uttered when he witnessed Amelia use her Cell Master ability to kill one of her opponents during their infiltration of the Night base.

    Those were his exact words at that time:

    "You have a formidable power, the most potent of them all, so why, why, why, WHY ARE YOU SO WEAK?"

    He, along with Amelia and Anna, hadn''t given much thought to those words, taking them as the ramblings of a fool. But now that he thought about it, Rangyl had called her ability the Golden Ability and had even become enraged when he saw that she was too "weak."

    So, maybe that was it.

    Maybe Amelia had finally found a way to make the most out of her power, and thanks to that, her strength was blossoming, soaring up and far beyond.

    [Hoh, that child managed to fool her integration factor] the voice of the goddess of lust suddenly resounded in Alex''s head. [Quite impressive.]

    ''Integration factor? What is that?'' Alex inquired with a solemn expression.

    However, he waited and waited some more, but even after a few minutes, there was no answer, making him understand that the goddess of lust wasn''t going to respond.

    ''Why mention this integration factor if you didn''t intend to explain what it is?!!'' he thought to himself, his expression darkening in annoyance.

    Suppressing her growing unease, she forced herself to smile and nodded at them. "It''s settled then. See you guys later."

    "Don''t forget that the auction starts soon, so you''d better head home before it gets too late. You''ll need plenty of rest for tomorrow," Freya warned.

    "Yeah, yeah, I know, Mom," Maya sighed.

    "Well, in that case, enjoy yourself, sweetie," Freya said with a wave. She cast a discreet glance at Amelia before turning away, gently pulling Alex along with her.

    "See you later, kiddo," Alex teased, flashing Maya a playful smirk.

    However, Maya''s unease only intensified. ''Mother wouldn''t actually do anything with that perverted old man... right?'' she thought to herself.

    After a moment, she shook her head, trying to dispel the ridiculous notion. ''There''s no way anything could happen between them. Mother is too serious about her work to let any man into her life, much less him—even if he might be the most handsome man I''ve ever seen...'' Her thoughts trailed off as a furious blush crept into her cheeks.

    Alas, if only she knew that, at that moment, it was already too late. Freya had already succumbed to Alex''s charms.

    ***

    "So, where to?" Alex asked as they made their way back to the surface.

    He had waited for a while, but the two of them were finally alone, and he intended to make the most of the time they were going to spend together.

    "Your choice," Freya replied with a thoughtful expression. "We could explore the city, visit the auction market if you''re interested in acquiring more treasures—though that seems unlikely that you will find anything interesting today since our own auction starts tomorrow. There are plenty of ways to pass the time. There''s even an amusement park that operates at night if that interests you."

    "An amusement park? Gods, no," Alex scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Thanks to my daughters, I''ve lost some of the fondness I held for that kind of place. Besides, Arcanor can''t just be seen hanging around an amusement park—I have a reputation as a terrifying man to uphold!"

    "Thank the gods you''re not interested," Freya replied, sighing in relief. "I also have a reputation as a strict and cold matriarch to maintain!"

    The two exchanged glances before bursting into laughter.

    "I didn''t know the ''cold and strict'' Matriarch Freya could joke around," Alex said, his gaze locking onto her mesmerizing orange eyes. "I wonder what else I might discover about you."

    A smile bloomed on Freya''s lips, and she replied in a voice as sultry as silk, "Stick with me, and you might just find out."

    If Maya had been there, merely hearing those words from her mother would have been enough to make her faint. And if she had actually heard the sheer seductiveness in her tone, there was no telling what might have happened.

    "You don''t have to worry," Alex murmured, stepping a little closer. "I had no intention of leaving your side, even if you had asked me to."

    "Good," Freya said softly, her smile so radiant that it chased away the darkness that surrounded them.

    ''So beautiful.''