Aria was confused at first but when she finally started comprehending, she thought she comprehended wrong.
She sat up. "What?"
Gabriel chuckled. "Nothing too serious".
"I an, I work in analytics anyway. Technical analysis, ga data tracking, competitor analysis, why not put it to use at Club Echelon?"
"You guys are building sothing big, and I know I can help, so why not? Most importantly, we’ll be able to stay close together".
Aria’s mind raced, and before she knew it she was blushing.
This..., the idea was solid but still.
Her boyfriend, working in the sa place at her, with her friends? With Caleb and Genevieve? With that maniac, Benjamin?
She felt her mind racing..., did she want this?
In that mont, Aria didn’t know exactly how she felt. On one hand, she loved her boyfriend and missed him but the idea of acting loved-up in front of those bastards left her blushing in sha.
’Dammit!’
’All my steeze!’ She felt like crying.
But then, a question reared its way into her mind. ’Am I ashad of flaunting my relationship?’
’Am I ashad of Gabriel?’
As soon as that question ca, she froze.
Aria was a warrior, a fighter.
From a young age, despite being a girl with a relatively slim fra, she was never bullied. Rather, she was the bully.
From a young age, she was not one to back down from a fight, any challenge.
She loved confrontations.
This was what also brought her to love Warstar. eting that annoying guy in the ga one day, fighting against him in a ga she thought she was so good at, to be beaten so thoroughly hit her competitive spot.
’Over my dead body for to surrender without a fight!’
’Noah huh? I won’t stop until I beat him!’
And that was how the legend of Sprinkling Brooks ca about.
And that was why, again, at this mont, faced with the conundrum of being ashad of her boyfriend, Aria’s competitive spirit revolted aggressively.
’? Ashad?’
’Preposterous!’
"Gabriel, co now!"
"Huh?"
Aria froze, and then she chuckled. "Sorry, my bad".
She finally managed to calm down.
The idea was... solid. No, brilliant. Gabriel was sharp; his ability to break down complex patterns, track trends, and predict opponent behavior was ridiculous.
Even if she removed her personal feelings from the equation, an employee of his talents would be a massive asset to club Echelon.
She took a deep breath. "You’re actually serious?"
Gabriel chuckled again. "I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t".
Aria smirked. "Well, well, look at you. Trying to mix business with pleasure?"
"Oh, absolutely. Gotta keep my goal close, don’t I?"
She laughed. "I’ll talk to Nightingale. But honestly? I’d love to have you on board".
Gabriel’s voice softened. "Then its settled. No more ’I feel bad’ calls, alright? We’ll figure it out. Together".
Aria smiled. "Yeah. Together".
As soon as the call ca to an end, Aria navigated through her phone before putting a call to her boss.
As soon as Nightingale picked up the call, she laid out the proposition to him.
Nightingale didn’t hesitate.
And just like that, Gabriel was hired.
With that, Aria’s personal business was finally settled. Going back to the training grounds where her friends waited for her, Aria had a spring in her step.
Benjamin noticed it. "Umm, you good?"
Aria looked at him, smiling eerily. "Next ti you try to eavesdrop on my conversation with my boyfriend, you know what I’d do?"
Benjamin chuckled nervously. "No?"
Instead of answering with words, she made a cutting sign across her neck.
Benjamin gulped. "Won’t happen again!"
"Better".
And with that, the group of friends enthusiastically jumped into the ga.
They would play all night.
...
After the Chaos Gambit, they didn’t have to think to know their next target in the list of quests that Noah had prepared for them.
This ti, Noah targeted the Harbinger’s Paradox quest.
Noah and his team regrouped in a quiet part of the city, checking their status and tallying their newly earned skill points. Of course, with his SSS-Rank 10x skill points unique skill, he got far more than his teammates.
Benjamin could not help looking at him from ti to ti in envy.
Noah chuckled. "Sorry Ben, you can’t be ".
"Get lost!"
Noah laughed.
And then, he faced them. "We’re not done," he said, his voice carrying that undeniable certainty that made it impossible to argue. "Next, we’re taking on the Harbinger’s Paradox".
Aria raised an eyebrow. "The what now?"
Genevieve frowned. "All these quests, none of them are common..., just where the hell did you hear about them?"
Noah smirked. "Let’s just say I have my ways".
The team exchanged glances, and then, as expected, they followed his lead.
The quest began at an abandoned ruin at the edge of the Twilight Rift, a desolate landscape where ti itself fractured unpredictably.
Unlike other locations in Warstar, the Rift wasn’t bound to a single era. At any given mont, remnants of past battles, future catastrophes, or forgotten civilizations could manifest, all effects of the mysterious warlord who was the main character this ti.
As they stepped into the ruin, the system notification flashed.
[You have entered a Distorted Ti Zone!]
[Quest Activated: The Harbinger’s Paradox]
A spectral figure stood in the center of the ruins, cloaked in shadows that bled into the air like ink in water.
Its presence twisted reality, shifting the surroundings between different tilines. One mont, the team stood in a pristine temple and the next, it was nothing but rubble, and the sky turned crimson with an impending apocalypse.
The figure turned toward them; its voice layered with echoes of countless lifetis. "Humans..."
"You seek knowledge beyond your ti... but are you prepared to pay the price?"
Before anyone could respond, the world broke.
CRACK!
Noah and his team suddenly found themselves standing in a vast battlefield, surrounded by armies locked in a desperate struggle.
The banners bore symbols they didn’t recognize and yet, sohow, Noah’s system identified it as an event that never happened in Warstar’s official lore.
Genevieve’s breath hitched. "This... this isn’t pat of the ga’s history, what the hell!"
"Because it wasn’t ant to be," Caleb murmured, eyes narrowed. "We’re in a tiline that was erased".
They all looked at Noah.
He coughed. "It didn’t say this in the description".
"F*ck!"
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