"Why do I have to deal with him too? Why can't I just deal with that guy alone?"
Wilkins calmly persuaded him in response to his natural protest.
"You could just deal with him, but there has to be sothing that will absolutely crush that guy. Miller might charm won, but in the real world, he’s useless. We need a counterexample to show him that."
Wilkins tightly grabbed Dane's arms to prevent him from running away and continued.
"You absolutely must be part of this plan."
Dane's face twisted as if he was creeped out by Wilkins' cold, gleaming eyes.
"When you have to put in a 'necessary' condition for a plan, doesn’t that already an it’s a failed one?"
Dane, trying to escape until the very end, was t with Wilkins, who now spoke seriously, far from his usual deanor.
"Dane, I didn’t co up with this plan just to ss with Grayson Miller. That guy needs to experience firsthand that he’s on a completely different level from us, so he can be a bit more obedient, you know? A year is a long ti. Who knows what that guy might do? We have to gain the upper hand early on."
Of course, as the team leader, handling Grayson Miller would be a priority. It was unimaginable that Miller would just obediently follow orders, so using this forceful thod was understandable for the team leader. However...
Dane was still reluctant when Ezra suddenly interjected.
"You should cooperate. Think about it—what if that guy goes out there and gets stranded? Soone’s going to have to go rescue him. Who here is going to do it?"
Dane, with a contorted face, silently pointed to himself with his second finger, as if questioning whether he should really be the one to rescue him. Ezra nodded firmly.
"Exactly, of course, I or soone else will go too, but you have to be there. Why? Because your physical ability is the best among us! You're the only one who could drag Grayson Miller out of there!"
The passionate explanation was almost nonsensical, but it seed hard to escape from this firm trap.
"Alright, Dane Striker."
After the harsh reality, Wilkins called Dane's full na. He stared at Dane with an unusually serious expression and spoke.
"Do you want to do this, or not?"
"... Hah."
In the end, Dane covered his face with one hand and sighed deeply. With that, everything was decided.
The midday sun was blazing brightly.
The sky was a clear blue without a cloud in sight, and the strong sunlight illuminated the ground brightly. The distant glass windows of buildings shimred, and the breeze made the air feel cooler. It was a perfect, clear day. But the mont Dane saw the scene at the location they arrived at, he suddenly wished he could block out the sunlight with his hand.
Other team mbers were already waiting. Seeing a group of female employees gathered, fitting the ridiculous purpose of this test, Dane couldn't help but sigh. They were already full of adrenaline. Watching them swing their fists while cheering for Dane and jeering at Grayson, Dane suddenly thought about just turning around and going ho.
"Alright, co here. Let explain the course. Dane, Dane! Co over here!"
At Wilkins' shout, Dane reluctantly walked toward him. Grayson had already arrived and was waiting. When the two n stood on either side of him, Wilkins unfurled the map he had brought and began to speak.
"Here, this is our fire station."
Wilkins tapped the map with his finger as he explained.
"Start here, then go around like this, and you'll be back here. Got it? If you finish quickly, you’ll make it in 30 minutes. Look here, you go through here, then..."
Dane stood indifferently, glancing at the map as he listened. He was familiar with this route. The loop around the small mountain behind the fire station was similar to the route he used during physical training, so there was no need to morize it. The only difference was the narrow, secluded bend in the road. It was clear that they’d added a bit more difficulty, but it didn’t seem like a major change. This test wasn’t truly about physical endurance; it was just a ruse to ss with Grayson Miller, so the modifications made sense.
But ultimately, there wouldn’t be much of a difference.
Placing one hand on his waist, Dane watched indifferently, but then he felt an unsettling feeling. Looking up, he locked eyes with a pair of purple ones.
How long had he been watching?
Dane didn’t know, but it was clear that he hadn’t been stared at for a short ti. Was this so sort of power struggle? It was just one of those petty things. But Dane had no intention of looking away, so he kept his gaze steady.
At that mont, the purple eyes darkened even more. Along with the near-black pupils, the sweet scent that always lingered around Grayson grew stronger.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
The air seed to beco sticky. In an instant, the strong pheromones swept through the area, creating a noticeable change.
"Ah!"
"Jane, are you okay?"
"Mark, what's wrong? Mark!"
"Who has so dicine?"
The Oga-typed colleagues were montarily affected and staggered. So were even breathing heavily, looking panicked. Dane sighed in frustration. It was because of that damn extre alpha’s overpowering scent.
That ridiculously sweet pheromone sll.
The guy was massive, yet his pheromones were overwhelmingly sweet.
If you bit down on it, your teeth would rot away.
Of course, Dane wasn’t completely immune, but thanks to his extensive experience and special traits, he could brush it off. The real problem was the other Ogas. To recklessly spread pheromones like this—he was inconsiderate, just like every other extre alpha.
A part of him felt like knocking this annoying guy out, but he suppressed the urge. Solving everything this way wasn’t ideal.
For the first ti, he thought maybe cooperating in the way Wilkins suggested wouldn’t be so bad. These types of humans were probably built by drinking protein shakes and training muscles in the gym, so when faced with actual training that used their whole body, they’d panic or fall behind. Therefore, there wouldn’t be much ti left for such provocations. With that in mind, Dane beca a little more patient.
"...Okay, got it? You both understood?"
"Yes."
"Of course."
Dane and Grayson answered in unison, but their gazes remained locked. Wilkins alternated looking at them, shrugged, then rolled up the map and held it in his hand.
"Alright, let’s get started. Go to the starting line, hurry."
As Wilkins urged them forward, it happened.
"Dane, Dane."
The person who called him in a soft voice was D'Andre. He glanced around, then took a $10 bill out of his pocket and handed it to Dane.
"Hit that guy when no one’s looking. Preferably in the face."
He was serious. Looking down at D'Andre's fierce face, Dane briefly glanced at the bill, folded it, and tucked it into his pants pocket.
"Is $10 enough?"
At his indifferent question, D'Andre paused. He quickly rummaged through his pocket and hastily pulled out crumpled bills, scattering them onto Dane’s palm. With a tense expression, as if waiting {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} for a judge’s verdict, D'Andre watched Dane unfold the bills one by one to check the amount, then nodded.
"38 dollars... and 25 cents. Got it."
After D'Andre scraped the last of his coins into Dane’s hand, Dane put them all in his pocket, patted D'Andre’s arm, and turned away.
"I trust you, Dane! I trust you!"
As D'Andre called out urgently from behind, Dane, still with his back turned, gave him just a single wave before walking toward the starting line where everyone was waiting.
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