'Huh?'
The Hitman only had to shoot the plasma bullet.
'What?'
But for some reason, the bullet didn't fire off, it instantly dissipated.
Surely, there was a mistake?
But this was the first time it had ever happened in his career.
He had honed and perfected this technique to its full potential.
Despite being a low ranked member of the Primordials, he was a feared ruthless killer in his own team, giving him the nickname, Ghost.
He had not failed a single contract ever since he joined the organization.
His skills were among the best of the best in his team.
'So why…'
He felt like he was about to lose.
Suddenly, the boy got up.
His fearful expression from earlier had already vanished, replaced with one of indifference.
Step.
Ghost took a step back.
Once again, he contoured another finger gun, aiming it at the boy.
Pshhh-
Only for the plasma bullet dissipated once again.
He realized this was no mistake.
'This is the boy's doing.'
Suddenly, blue sparks protruded from the boy, lightning seemed to be coursing through his veins.
And in an instant, he had disappeared.
Swoosh-!
But of course, due to Ghost's ability, his eyes could track the boy's movement.
Once again, the boy's fist was about to reach him.
Trying to redirect the lightning again, Ghost surged up a volt of electricity.
However…
He could not feel any volt at all.
As soon as he felt a miniscule amount of electricity, it suddenly disappeared, as if it was never there in the first place.
Boom!
The boy's fist struck Ghost, sending him hurling away.
'Fuck… what's going on? How is he doing that?'
Crack!
As he crashed onto the wall, he was given no time to recuperate, as crystals of ice lunged from the ground, heading towards him.
Spurt-!
With his reflexes he managed to narrowly dodge the crystals, only grazing his leg.
But as soon as he dodged, a torrent of flames headed his way.
'What the fuck? A Deviant with three affinities? That makes no sense!"
Of course, there were other Deviants who were blessed with two or more affinities.
But in all his years of being a contracted killer, not once had he ever encountered one.
The only known Deviants with more than two affinities were the top ten mages in the world.
And from what he heard, the 1st Seat of the Primordials was Deviant as well.
Their strength was comparable to Gods.
'Who is this boy? And why hasn't anyone heard of him yet?'
As he dodged the flames, before he knew it, the boy had already managed to get behind him.
Thwack! Tssszzz-!
At impact, Ghost was sent crashing towards the window, as volts of lightning trailed from him.
Crash!
The sound of glass shattering reverberated the room, as shards of glass were scattered all over.
"AAAAA-"
As Ghost was about to be sent falling to his doom, the boy grabbed the scruff of his collar.
Before Ghost could even react to what happened, the boy coldly locked eyes with him.
"Which seat do you work for?"
'Huh?'
For some reason, the boy knew he was working for someone.
And at the mention of 'seat', the boy seemed to know more than he let out.
'How does he know about the Primordials?'
Despite being a large organization, the Primordials was not well known to the public.
They were good at erasing their traces, and whenever a member was a risk to the organization.
They would be silenced.
Despite being at the mercy of the boy, he feared the organization, more than him.
Of course, he didn't want to die. But at this moment, he'd rather be killed off by the boy than facing the wrath of the Primordials.
Ghost didn't answer him, giving the boy a smirk.
"Sorry, it seems I haven't introduced myself to you."
With a look of indifference, the boy's eyes narrowed, as if he was staring directly in Ghost's soul.
"Standing before you is the 1st Seat of the Primordial."
'WHAT!?'
Ghost's eyes shot wide open, as his mouth contoured to a silent 'o' shape.
Now it all made sense…
His power, his confidence.
But…
The 1st Seat had never shown up for any meetings, he was a mysterious figure, and the only one who had contact with him was the 2nd Seat.
Ghost didn't know the names of any other Seated member. Regular subordinates weren't allowed that kind of information.
They only knew the name of the Seat they devoted themselves to, in Ghost's case, it was the 12th Seat.
He couldn't believe the boy's claims so easily.
Thus, he had to confirm it.
"If you are who you say you are, then what's the name of the 12th Seat?"
"I see, so you work for Pulcinella."
Once again, Ghost was astonished, his jaw slacked open in disbelief.
'Now that settles it…'
Ghost could only believe in the boy.
There was no other answer.
'He really is the 1st Seat.'
Only the other Seated members knew the names of each other.
"How would you like to secretly work for me?"
"Huh?"
Was this an opportunity?
Were the days of being Pulcinella's henchmen finally over?
"As you know, I operate secretly," the 1st Seat stated,
He was right, only the 1st Seat didn't have his own team.
This was definitely an opportunity for Ghost to finally climb the ranks of the organization.
Directly operating under the 1st Seat was an offer he couldn't miss.
With no hesitation, Ghost gave his response,
"I accept, if you wish it, I will abandon the 12th Seat."
"No, continue with your operations. But remember, you secretly work for me now, so my orders are absolute."
Ghost felt a chill down his spine. The immense pressure that the 1st Seat exuded bore down on him.
He truly was befitting of his title as the strongest Primordial.
But despite that, Ghost could tell that the 1st Seat seemed to be weaker than the 12th Seat.
'He must be hiding his strength.'
Just like his fight with Ghost, he only revealed his strength at the last second.
It made sense since he was a mysterious man, of course he would hide his power in public.
There was no reason to doubt him.
It was the only explanation.
"Yes, Sir!"
"What should I call you?"
"My real name is Leon, Sir. But my code name is Ghost."
"Hmm... I'll call you Alpha, and you can call me, hmm…"
He seemed to ponder before he gave his response.
"From now on, call me Moriarty."
Tap- Tap- Tap-
Tapping on his desk, Charles locked eyes with Brandon and spoke up,
"So, everything is all settled?"
"Yes, you may resume operations tomorrow."
"Right, and you're saying this man will be my assistant from now on?"
Charles' gaze shifted to another man with red hair, who stood beside Brandon.
It was none other than Ghost–now Alpha.
"That's right, trust me, Mr. Deus. He will no longer harm you or the company."
"Haa… okay, since you saved my life, it's the least I could do for you."
"Thank you, Mr. Deus."
At the end of it all, Brandon gave a healing potion—which was given by Alpha, to Charles.
Brandon then gave Charles some time to recover, while informing him about what Aiden's betrayal.
Charles couldn't believe it at first. After all, Aiden had been working for him for 2 years.
Of course, Aiden denied all accusations. But the fact that he was alive, after being presumed dead spoke enough.
When they checked the transactions that Aiden made, they discovered that a substantial amount of the companies' assets were transferred to an unknown account.
Thus, Aiden was given up to the police.
How did something like this manage to slip under Charles' watch?
Brandon began to doubt if this man really knew what he was doing.
But then again, if the events in the novel were right, then there was no need to worry.
Brandon then exchanged contacts with Charles and Alpha.
Alpha had to use a burner phone for the process.
He was still a full fledged member of the Primordials, so Brandon couldn't make any compromises.
He was already pretending to be the 1st Seat of the Primordials, if they were to find out, then things would get messy.
And Brandon wasn't strong enough to face the organization yet.
He was now walking on a tightrope. But if he played his cards right, then the benefits outweigh the costs.
He now had an underling slash informant serving under him—Alpha.
For the first time in his life, Brandon finally felt like he had power.
Surely, in this world, he can become someone special.
Plus, he had the system aiding him.
Brandon then silently muttered to himself,
"System"
—---------------------------
[Name: Brandon Locke]
[Level: 2]
[EXP: 150/300]
[Class: Anomaly]
∟ You are an entity that does not belong to this world, an anomaly.
[Passive]
∟ Skill Weaver:
∟ Create any skill possible within the user's capabilities.
∟ Increase your capacity by +1 per level.
∟ Total Skills: 2/2
[Skill Tab]
[Stats]
[Stat Points Available: 0]
∟ STR: F [●○○○○]
∟ MP: F+ [○○○○○]
∟ DEF: F [●○○○○]
∟ AGI: F [●●○○○]
∟ INT: F+ [○○○○○]
∟ CHARM: F [●○○○○]
[System Shop]
[System Coins: 100]
[Quests Available: 0]
—---------------------------
As he now possessed two skills, a Skill Tab had popped up to better organize his skills.
—---------------------------
[Skill Tab]
∟ [Elemental Manipulation]
∟ Ice
∟ Lightning
∟ Fire
[Mana Disruption]
∟ Disrupts mana, causing it to never take shape and scatter. Can only target one specific location.
—---------------------------
During the fight with Alpha, Brandon had to think of a skill that could help him win.
He decided to come up with a way to counter Alpha.
No, to counter all the mages in the world.
Mana Disruption.
It was truly a groundbreaking skill.
Of course–if he could, he would've wanted to fully cancel mana, completely rendering his enemy helpless.
But for some reason, the system made it–so that he could only disrupt the mana on one specific location.
But still–with this skill, Brandon knew he could rise to the top of the world.
'Scratch following the storyline.'
He had already diverted from the plot. From Combat Class, to investing in the company.
And Alpha's appearance was proof of his actions.
Of course, the knowledge of the future was still useful.
But the conclusions?
'I can change it, all the major deaths in the novel, everything.'
But…
It meant Raven wouldn't get his development.
'Haa…'
If only Brandon was the protagonist, then things would become significantly easier.
But he wasn't, so he decided to do the little things he could.
His appearance was already a change in the story itself.
So a little bit of change wouldn't hurt.
'As long as it doesn't conflict with Raven's journey, then it might be fine.'
Is what he thought.
His gaze then landed on Charles who continued to speak.
"I look forward to our business partnership, Mr Locke, and… Alpha.
It seemed like Charles was still skeptical.
But regardless, Brandon nodded at his words.
'All's well ends well.'
***
Some time, around 11:00 PM
Brandon returned to the apartment, only to find Belle studying in the kitchen.
"I'm ho–"
"Where were you?"
Belle abruptly cut him off. Then turned to scan Brandon's attire, or–what was left of it.
"What happened to you?"
Brandon's once elegant black suit, was now tattered and ripped, with tears and holes all over it.
His hair was disheveled, and his face was filled with dust.
It was a sorry sight.
But Brandon just shrugged it off like it was nothing.
"I just tripped…"
"That's what they all say… are you getting bullied, Brandon?"
Brandon was taken aback, he didn't expect his new sister to actually be worried about him.
Of course, his torn suit and haggard look was the result of his fight with Alpha.
With a worried look, Belle continued,
"If someone's messing with you, just tell me, okay?"
Belle spoke as if she had some influence in the school, or maybe she was actually strong.
Brandon had to find out.
"If someone was, then what are you going to do about it?"
Belle furrowed her brow and sternly stated,
"Exercise my authority as the Student Council President."
Brandon's eyes shot wide open, as his mouth was left agape.
It seemed like Belle was serious.
He didn't expect Belle to be someone of significant importance in the Academy.
'This is interesting.'
From what he knew, the Student Council President had never made an appearance in the novel.
'Could this have been because of my appearance in the story?'
The mystery of who Brandon Locke was had skyrocketed his curiosity.
But for now, Brandon was too exhausted to think about it.
Brandon flashed his sister a smile, and said,
"Ah, that's right. But don't worry, it's nothing like that. There were just some issues during my part-time job."
Brandon had already expected Belle to be shocked, as her eyes widened.
"You've found a job?"
"Well, sort of?"
"You know, you can just ask our parents' for money right?"
Like the spoiled rich daughter she was.
It occurred to Brandon that his new family was wealthy.
He realized it when he observed Belle's lifestyle.
It was the same way the rich girls from his previous world would act like.
"I know, but I'd like to do something with my own capabilities."
"Hmm, I see, good for you. Be sure to treat me to something nice next time, okay?"
"S-Sure…"
He stuttered.
Brandon then headed to his bedroom and immediately collapsed on his bed.
"Haa…"
It was an exhausting day for him.
From attending lectures, finding a proper suit–which was now destroyed, rehearsing his lines for the business meeting, and finally, fighting Ghost... Alpha.
He had never been so busy in all his life.
But…
"It's nice to be this productive."
He was finally turning his life around.
From a teenage boy with no aspirations, to becoming Brandon Locke.
He truly felt blessed at this second chance given to him.
*
*
[AN]
Finished with the early setup.
Chapters will be longer from now on.
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