From a few feet away, Annabelle squeezed Axel’s hand and snickered. "Good question. Let’s see him talk his way out of that one."

  But Vincent? Unfazed. "Because you don’t look like bad people," he replied effortlessly. Flattery. Justification. Perfectly natural delivery.

  This guy was built for this kind of thing. No hesitation, no over-explaining.

  Sure enough, the slight humor in his voice made the women laugh. Seeing that Axel really did have a kid with him, they relaxed a little more.

  "Alright, let’s go together. I’m Ivy." Her friend introduced herself, but Vincent was already laser-focused on Ivy.

  "Nice name," he said smoothly. "Give me a sec, let me check in with my friends."

  Watching Vincent work, Axel had to admit—he was good.

  "So? How’d I do?" Vincent asked, smug.

  "Great," Axel said honestly.

  Vincent beamed and clapped him on the shoulder.

  "This is real-world training, my friend. Just casual conversation, a clear reason for talking to them. Women know why we approach, but if your excuse is bullshit, it makes them uncomfortable."

  "Never rush to answer their tests," Vincent continued. "That puts you on the defensive. Take control of the conversation instead."

  Then he grinned. "Come on, Axel—last chance. Ivy’s with me, her friend can keep you company. What do you say?"

  Axel didn’t hesitate. "I learned something, sure. But I’m not going."

  Vincent sighed, shaking his head dramatically. "Well then," he smirked, turning toward Ivy and her friend, "guess that means I’m having a threesome tonight."

  Axel’s brain stopped working for a second.

  "...What?"

  Annabelle, standing beside him, suddenly froze. Her face turned bright red as the words sank in.

  Axel frowned. "Annabelle, what does he mean?"

  Annabelle fidgeted, scratching her head. "Uh... it means..." She hesitated, her fair skin flushing deeper. "It’s... uh... group sex."

  Axel stiffened. Then, his head snapped toward Vincent, who was already disappearing into Elysium with the two women.

  Oh hell no. Axel grabbed Annabelle’s wrist.

  New rule: stay the hell away from Vincent. Also, why the fuck was Vincent using his name?! Axel shook his head, exasperated. No time to deal with that now. He had bigger things to focus on.

  Tonight wasn’t just about Vincent’s wild adventures. Axel had unfinished business. In Black Rock Prison, he had secured a first-class life crystal—but that was just part of the reward. There was still a bigger prize waiting for him.

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  Orion. Axel had let him go earlier, because of Cassia. But as Orion himself said, it was too soft-hearted to let him go at that time. Even if Orion was bound to die, Axel needed to see him die, so this task was given to Annabelle.

  Retrieving the life crystal was easier than expected. By the time Axel and Annabelle arrived at the warehouse, Orion’s body was gone. Griffin’s too. The stench of blood was stronger than before—signs of another violent clash. More infighting. But not Axel’s problem.

  Tonight, he’d secured exactly what he needed. Now, it was time to head home and count his winnings.

  "Three life crystals from awakeners."

  "Seven fragmented life crystals."

  Axel exhaled, staring at the small pile of glowing crystals on the table. This haul would last him for a while.

  But one thing stood out. Orion’s crystal—though not particularly large—was different. Instead of the usual emerald green, it had a deep, dark green hue.

  Frowning, he picked it up, rolling it between his fingers. The energy inside was undeniable—dense, powerful. No surprise there. Orion had been a second-level awakener, after all.

  The fragmented crystals, however, were a bit underwhelming. Considering how many people had died in that gang fight, Axel had expected more. But he understood the reason—as his strength grew, weaker corpses stopped producing crystals. They simply weren’t worth anything to him anymore. No big deal. He could just give these to Annabelle.

  Speaking of her, Annabelle had been devouring life crystals like candy. Her physical strength was now comparable to someone with a stat of 150, and her speed was even higher. And once she entered a mutated state, her attributes would jump another 10%.

  But the real shock had been her awakening ability. Axel had felt it firsthand—the moment she activated it, his blood boiled, as if it was about to explode from every pore. Even with his near-300 Force, resisting it hadn’t been easy.

  This was something new—a skill he had never heard of.

  "Blood Traction." That’s what he decided to call it. Based on his estimates, Annabelle was now stronger than a first-level low-grade awakener, close to mid-tier.

  Without hesitation, Axel handed her seven standard life crystals and went straight back into training.

  No time to waste, the selection trials were coming up fast. According to Rosaline and Vince, even at second level, Axel would still be the weakest in the competition.

  He couldn’t afford to slow down. Problem was, he had no idea how long the assessment would last or what it would even include. And using life crystals in public was out of the question.

  Thankfully, he had something else—Blood Refining Stones. Lachlan had been a real asshole, but Axel had to admit—he left behind some useful shit.

  "Let’s start with this one." He grabbed Orion’s life crystal, staring at the dark green glow. He was curious. What made this one different?

  As usual, he began with his routine—Body Forging and Meditation—draining his Force and stamina before slowly absorbing the crystal’s energy.

  The moment the Force hit his system, a wave of heat shot through his body. Axel gritted his teeth, barely holding back a pained grunt. This shit was intense.

  Thicker. Hotter. Stronger.

  The absorption rate was about 50% faster than a first-level crystal, but there was no way in hell he could use this in battle.

  If this kind of sudden pain hit him mid-fight, he’d be dead in seconds. Good thing he tested it first.

  "But damn… the effects are insane." In just a few minutes, half his depleted Force was fully restored, and the crystal had only shrunk by 10%.

  Second-level life crystals hit different. Axel exhaled, a realization creeping in. If a second-level crystal felt this intense, what would happen if Vince’s team killed a third- or fourth-level awakener? Would it be enough to skyrocket his strength instantly? But It is more likely that the sheer force would rip him apart.

  Something else was off. Beyond the sheer intensity, he felt a temporary boost in his physical stats.

  Switching to inner vision, he noticed his physical strength had jumped to 320. But after ten minutes, it dropped back down.

  "A temporary buff…" Only his body had strengthened—not his Force or spirit. That made sense. Orion had been a pure martial artist, so his crystal only carried physical attributes.

  Interesting. If he could collect different types of life crystals, he could use them to boost specific attributes based on different combat situations.

  This was more than just power—it was strategy.