I sat perfectly still, Hazel’s head resting on my lap, her breathing soft and even in sleep.
My phone pressed against my ear after I dialed a number.
"I was wondering when you’d call," she said.
"How did you—" I stopped myself. "Never mind. Stupid question."
"Yes, it was." I could hear the faint smile in her voice. "You survived an assassination attempt."
It wasn’t a question.
"So, you knew and you didn’t even give a heads-up?"
Samantha’s response ca without hesitation, her tone maddeningly casual.
"Why would I? I know you’re strong enough to take care of them anyway."
"That’s not the point," I said, trying to keep my voice level.
"What else haven’t you told ?" I asked. "What other ’acceptable outcos’ am I walking into blind?"
Samantha was quiet for a mont. When she spoke again, there was sothing different in her voice.
"If I told you everything I saw, you’d second-guess yourself constantly, trying to optimize for futures you can’t fully understand or control."
She got a solid point, so the argunt ended there.
"Just tell if you hear anything about assassins moving into the city. They’ll likely send S‑ranks next."
"So, you plan to strike first," she replied. "Less damage that way."
She saw through it without effort.
"Yes," I admitted.
"Don’t worry. I’ll let you know once I get sothing specific. And—"
"And what?" I asked, catching the hesitation in her voice.
"You will need soldiers in the future," she told .
That made pause.
She could see fragnts of the future. If she thought an army was needed, then the threat was far bigger than I assud.
After the call ended, I switched control to my clone and recalled the raid team.
With this kind of threat looming, leaving my real body unattended for long periods no longer felt safe.
Besides that, I did not want to shock everyone again with another flawless completion. Zero deaths, done too soon, would raise too many questions.
I swapped bodies again.
Back in my room, I stood by the window and scanned the city below.
Lights dotted the streets. People laughed. Cars moved along their usual routes. None of them had any idea how close they were to a war.
I sat down in my office chair and pulled out my phone. Building my own city had moved from a vague plan to an urgent priority. I tapped my phone.
"Jonas Blackwood," his voice ca.
"Uncle Jonas, it’s . I’m calling about a project I want your company to handle."
There was a brief pause. "Go on."
"I want to build a city. A real stronghold. Roads, defenses, infrastructure—the works. And I’m willing to pay a premium."
He chuckled, a little nervous. "Ace... you’re serious? That’s... massive. We’re talking billions."
"Yes. And it won’t stop there. If your company takes part in this, all future improvents, expansions, or renovations go through you. The project could easily reach a trillion over ti."
There was a pause on the line. I could imagine him weighing his options.
"And you want us to start... where?"
"The mountain region north of the city."
Jonas was silent for a mont. "If I agree to this, I’ll need to get others on board. I can’t do it alone."
"Of course. Bring in whoever you need. I’ll transfer a hundred billion as a downpaynt."
"Alright, I’ll get my people organized. Roads and defenses, initial construction—we can handle that. But clearing the area? That’s on you."
"That works for . My raid team will be out of the tower long enough to handle the clearing. Once the area is secure, I expect your construction team to move fast. Ti is critical."
"Understood," he replied. "I’ll have my engineers start drafting plans imdiately."
"Get it done, Uncle Jonas. And make sure your people know exactly what I want. No shortcuts."
"Don’t worry. We always follow the money."
That’s what I wanted to hear.
The next day, I spoke with a representative from JP Harrison. They were more than willing to loan a hundred billion against my stock shares. The interest rate was three percent per annum, far better than their earlier offer.
I didn’t push them for a lower rate, since guild business was risky and could go bankrupt at any ti.
Next on the agenda was the tower.
My hundred‑man team conducted a parade, and the city showered us with praise.
People gathered along the streets. So even ford small groups, chanting our nas.
Not bad.
At the mont, I was using Chase’s body. I made sure to smile at the caras and drink a bottle of Gator energy drink, one of our main sponsors. The label faced forward.
When I gulped it all down, I let out a satisfying "Ahhh," and delivered my lines:
"Power up your climb with Gator, fuel for the tower!"
Honestly, it was just an overly sweet drink filled with sugar and caffeine, but who cared? Not .
Give enough money, and I would even endorse poison.
Alexa and the rest didn’t forget to deliver their own lines.
Rhea was a natural, but Alexa looked stiff. She would need acting lessons if she ever wanted to replace Hai-Yen as the best teleporter Seeker in the country.
Faye, on the other hand, smiled at the cara and waved like an idol. Well, done.
After the small parade, we all headed back to the guild building. Right away, a commotion caught our attention.
"What’s the problem?" I asked.
"It’s the guys from Mythical," soone replied. "They’ve been harassing us, saying we’re too arrogant for clearing just two floors when they’ve already cleared over a thousand."
Ah, right. I had forgotten we were surrounded by Mythical‑owned buildings, so friction like this was normal. Still, they had never gone so far as to step into my territory.
It seed I had been too busy with the tower. That gave them ti to recover from the damage my clone caused.
Foolish move. They had just put themselves back on my radar.
Fine. Ti to burn another building—far from my guild, of course.
I told them to ignore the taunting. "Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle this myself."
We headed back inside, but the mont I took my first step on the lobby, all my senses scread.
Lee shouted, "Guild Master! Everyone is in danger—!"
BOOM!
An explosion ripped through the entrance, followed by more detonations in quick succession.
My raid team reacted imdiately, defending themselves just in ti. I barked quick instructions, telling everyone where to go and what to do, making sure they knew how to protect themselves.
Then I vanished from the spot and teleported straight to the higher floors.
The blasts rattled my head, but my priority wasn’t my original body—it could withstand fire. My concern was Ellie and the others.
Once I sensed that my girls were safe, I used my Qi to scan the entire floor, guiding them toward the exits.
Outside, the fire was slowly being brought under control, thanks to the quick response of everyone.
"I need to check on sothing. Keep suppressing the fire," I instructed before vanishing into thin air.
My eyes slowly opened, and I found myself back in my bedroom. There was no sign of anyone trying to kill , so I took the stairs and headed down.
I was imdiately surrounded by my concerned guild mbers. I told them to calm down while we assessed the damage.
Only the first-floor reception was completely destroyed, along with parts of the second and third floor.
Most of the people in the lobby at the ti were Seekers, so only lower‑rank mbers died. The rest suffered severe burns, but nothing dicine couldn’t fix.
"List the nas of the people who died. The least we can do is compensate their families," I told my lawyers, who had also managed to evacuate safely.
Looking at the burned walls, I realized how easily they could put my loved ones’ lives at risk if they wanted to.
Alexa glanced at the charred lobby. "I think this was just a warning."
"What do you an?" I asked, turning to her.
"We double-checked the building. Only the first and second floors had bombs. Those are the areas usually accessible to the public. If they really wanted to destroy the place, they would have planted more."
She made a good point. Sotis I forgot she used to be the Order’s assassin, so killing and sabotage were part of her expertise.
Before I could respond, my phone rang. I answered it—it was Samantha.
"Mr. rcer, be careful," she said.
"It’s already too late," I sighed. "You should have warned ahead of ti."
"No, I’m not talking about the recent attack. I just got new information—a four‑star mber of the Darkness arrived in the city two days ago. I can’t predict their movents."
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Author’s Note: Thank you all for your support so far! The pacing will pick up in the next Chapter because, we’re heading into a new arc, and things are about to get intense.
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