After Alex insulted Katherina, the Second Princess of the Drexia Empire, and left. The atmosphere inside the big hall became strange.

Strange, because one group had astonishing expressions on their faces (Katherina, Priscilla, Leonardo, and his crew, the two guards.) As for the second group, Maria and her two friends group were doing their utmost to hold back their laughter. They had spent two weeks in France for their holiday. Their holiday came to an end that they decided to return to Paris to take the plane back to Miami; alas, things happened, and now they are here. In those two weeks they passed in French cities, they often heard the sentence Alex said earlier, so they knew what it meant. It was why they almost burst into laughter; well, they were trying not to laugh.

However, soon Sakuya couldn’t control herself anymore, so she burst into laughter, Maria followed suit, and lastly, even Luna laughed as well.

Finally, Priscilla’s curiosity won, so she asked Maria what Alex said meant.

Maria and the others, even Leonardo and his crew lips twitched.

After managing to control herself, Maria answered.

”Well, you know, sorry in advance for what I’m about to say. What Alex said means: Go, Fuck yourself, bitch.”

There was a long silence; Katherina’s expression turned extremely unsightly, her eyes were about to spitfire. If Alex was present, Katherina might have killed him. The silence continued.

However, the one who broke the silence astonishingly was Priscilla; she laughed hard while holding her belly. Finally, she calmed down and said in a good mood.

”That one is good.”

Katherina glared at her big sister, the former first princess, before saying, with eyes filled with hatred. ”I’ll kill him.”

”I advised you not to do anything you’ll regret. No, don’t even try it, or you’ll face my wrath; even father won’t protect you. Do not try anything in this temple nor this forest. I hope you understand for your good and as he said earlier, never look down on anyone.”

Priscilla advised while emitting pressure that makes Katherina and her two imperial guards tremble in fear.

Leonardo and others were astonished; they had never thought that the smiling priestess was this powerful.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Maria excused herself. Soon, Luna and Sakuya also did the same thing, going back to their respective rooms.

❊ ❊ ❊ ❊ ❊

After leaving the others in the big hall, Alex entered his room, locking it before directly entering his bed.

Alex was angry, furious, but he felt refreshed after insulting that bitch Princess.

She thought she could look down on him because she’s a princess of an extensive and powerful empire. Alex may be weak, but it doesn’t mean he would stay silent if you insult him, even though he didn’t have any power or backing. He may lose his head, but Alex will defend himself. He was not the type that endures in silence.

All of this was happening because he was too weak.

Therefore, he needs to grow stronger fast enough. Alex was sure that Katherina would not let this matter slide like that. He needs to become stronger before she can make any moves against him. More muscular, so nobody will dare to look down on him in the future.

*Knock!* *Knock!*

Alex heard knocking sounds when he was about to sleep.

”Who is it?” he asked in a displeased voice.

”It’s me, Maria. So, can you open the door?”

”Oh! Maria, wait, I’m coming.”

After saying that, Alex got up and walked towards the door; he opened it and let Maria in.

Her dress was a simple black robe. She looked beautiful; after offering her a chair, Alex sat on his bed and asked why she was here.

”So, what brings My Lady here tonight?” Alex asked in a teasing tone.

”Fufufu! Nothing too serious. I just wanted to see you one more time before leaving with that Princess Pétasse tomorrow.” Maria responded.

”Ah! I see. I wish you good luck then.” Alex replied. His reply was short.

Maria stopped smiling with a serious face, she warned.

”I’ll be direct. Alex, please do not act as recklessly as you did today in the future. We are not on Earth anymore. You may lose your head if you make any wrong moves or say something you shouldn’t. I’m not saying that you should stay silent if somebody insulted you, but you have to know how to speak or act in response. You’re smart; I’m sure you know what I’m implying.”

”Thank you for the advice. I won’t forget it.”

Alex responded with a smile. He appreciated her advice; this shows that there is someone concerned about him.

”That’s reassuring then.”

Maria continued talking as she said.

”You have to work hard as, unlike us, your Gift is sealed at the moment. While that idiot’s brains got damaged during the reincarnation, we, on the other hand, believe that it’s sealed. As for what reason you can only figure out by yourself.”

”How do you know that?” Alex interrupted Maria and asked. He just wanted to know how she came to that conclusion.

”Simply put, Goddess Mea had said if you don’t feel any connection between you and your gift, it’s either your gift is sealed, or it’s useless. There’s no way your Gift is useless while other Gifts are powerful, so only one option remains. Your Gift is sealed at the moment. I’m not dumb, plus my instinct is telling me that your Gift is more amazing than all our Gifts. I trust my instincts more than anything. It even helps Papa many times back in our world.”

As expected, she’s smarter than Leonardo. Her instincts were genuinely sharp.

When Maria was talking about his father, she had a look of longing on her face, but it disappeared quickly as it appeared.

Maria shook her head before saying.

”Anyhow, I’ll be waiting for you at the Imperial city. Come visit, the classes in the magical academy will start in three months. I’ve secured you one invitation. Here take it.”

After saying that, Maria handed Alex an envelope with a golden seal on it.

”What usefulness will the classes in the academy have on me who can not use magic?” Alex asked, bewildered.

”Well, I knew you could not use magic, but I want you to take an adventurer course with the girls and me. If you graduate from there, you can easily explore the High-Level Dungeons under the supervision of the empires. Or, if you don’t want to, you can wait until you are an A-class Adventurer before asking for a permit to explore them. Well, there’s a lot of free small dungeons to visit if you don’t like my proposition. I’ll be happy if you come, the same for Sakuya and especially Luna; maybe we can form a team and explore many Dungeons in the future. However, if you decide not to, I won’t blame you. It’s up to you to decide, Alexander.” Maria said, looking at him, waiting for his answer.

“What? Why would Luna be pleased?” Alex asked because he found her words odd, as if-

“Fufufu! Nothing. Consider my advice.” Maria said, refusing to answer Alex’s question; the latter could only sigh, dropping the matter for now.

Truly speaking, Alex was tempted. Previously, he was planning to visit the Imperial capital after unsealing his Gift. Well, he needs to visit the Academy because, in the future, he was planning to dive into famous dungeons after becoming an Adventurer.

”Ok, I’ll come when I’m done with my plan over here,” Alex answered and immediately stored the envelope in his item box.

”That’s good then,” Maria said with a smile.

The two chatted for a few minutes before Maria stood up and returned to her room.

Alex watched Maria leave; he was not a fool, he could see that she was interested in him. He couldn’t help but smile as it is the same for him. 

••••

The next morning.

Alex was in front of the temple to see off Maria and her two best friends. He was not the only present, Priestess Priscilla and some other Priests were also present Leonardo and his crew were looking at him mockingly, and Princess Katherina was glaring at him; Alex just smiled back in response. She sends him a vicious glare before entering her carriage, the white carriage Alex saw yesterday.

Leonardo and his crew also entered. It is now Maria’s turn and others. Maria smiled, waving her hands before deciding to enter the carriage. Luna looked at Alex for a moment; she seemed to have something to say, however at the end, she did not say anything; she only smiled before boarding the carriage.

However, Sakuya suddenly disappeared to appear in front of Alex; Alex was astonished; she lowered her head and whispered into his ears, ”Work hard, even without a Gift, you can become the strongest, that’s what I believe.”

When Alex nodded his head, by the time he could say something, Sakuya was already inside the carriage.

They departed shortly after, and soon they were out of their sight.

Sakuya agility increased again; Alex didn’t even see her before she was in front of him.

Maybe the others were the same. They have progressed. Ah! I need to work harder. I’ll also depart in a couple of days. Destination: Eria’s City.’ Alex decided.

After chatting a little with Priscilla, Alex started his morning jogging inside the peaceful forest. He needed to train hard. The road toward becoming the strongest is hard.