章節 5: CHAPTER 5 – Alice.

Alex had been staying in his room, spending the rest of the day surfing the net, gathering more information about the world, and testing all his abilities. When he attempted to use the zone skill, he could only create a zone with a 5m radius around him.

This skill consumed a significant amount of his mana, and he realized that it was essentially a form of cheating.

Without his instant regeneration, he might only be able to sustain the skill for two or three seconds, as activating a 5m zone depleted half of his mana. If he wished to expand the size of his zone, he would need to increase the mana pool within his body.

Even with instant regeneration, he could only replenish what he already had and not more than that.

He could only use skills that consumed no more than 99% of his mana, as his mana regeneration was limited and not infinite. He then attempted to test his perception skill to determine its maximum range. He discovered that he could sense up to 200m of his surroundings, which was satisfactory.

He proceeded to test each of his skills one by one, gathering information along the way. By the time he had completed all the testing and information gathering, it was already midnight.

Therefore, he decided to get some sleep while contemplating how to handle Alice.

........

In the morning, when Alex woke up, he went out for a run, taking a mask with him. With his charm now rated as SSS+, he was aware that the attention he would attract solely based on his appearance would rival that of the world's top-ranked Raiders.

Despite his efforts to conceal his features, his height, aura, and muscles were impossible to hide from onlookers.

Many people attempted to engage him in conversation, and some girls even flirted with him, offering their phone numbers and suggesting he call them later.

He exchanged a few words with some individuals, while others he ignored completely, appearing as though he didn't hear them or wasn't aware they were addressing him.

After running for half an hour, he engaged in exercises like pushups, pullups, sit-ups, and planks before heading back to his residence.

Upon reaching the building where he lived, he paused on the stairs upon sensing someone standing in front of his locked room.

He always kept his perception skill active due to his instant regeneration, only deactivating it when using skills that required a large amount of mana, like the Five Elemental Zone. However, he sighed once he realized the identity of the figure standing in front of his room.

He could see a beautiful girl standing by the door, resting her back against the wall. She had long red hair that would reach her waist if she didn't tie it in a ponytail. Her red eyes displayed impatience, indicating a short temper.

Her cherry red lips glistened with luster, while her small and delicate nose complemented her features. Standing with her arms folded below her breasts, she accentuated her modest chest, giving the illusion of a larger size.

She wore a loose red T-shirt, tight black pants, and black shoes, and despite the casual attire, they couldn't conceal her perfectly shaped posterior and athletic, provocative figure.

However, she did not resemble an S-rank Raider or the guild master of one of the largest guilds in the orange country, as Alex had described her. Instead, she appeared to be just a normal girl in a red T-shirt and black pants.

Alex could see her clearly, unaffected by disguises, and the ring she wore on her index finger did not conceal her true appearance from him.

Yes, it was Alice from his orphanage, and she was wearing an item with a disguise function, as it would cause a lot of commotion if she were seen in public.

In fact, almost every guild master or S-rank Raider had one of those since being famous was not always good.

There were many types of items obtained from the Gates - some were used for fighting, some for support, some for defense, and many more.

Disguise ornaments were on the rarer side in the items obtained, so it was hard to buy or acquire, and only some privileged people could have them.

If a normal Raider were to obtain one, they would likely sell it as it was better than risking their life for an item.

In the world of Raiders, people with expensive items but lacking the power to protect them were considered fools, as they could be easily robbed or even killed to prevent any traces of theft.

Alex thought for a while, then he moved toward his room while still wearing his mask. When he reached the room, Alice looked at him and observed him, only realizing who he was when he stood in front of her.

She looked at him with evident confusion on her face.

"Alex?" she said, recognizing him but feeling like he was someone else.

"Yes, please come inside. We have a lot to talk about," Alex replied, opening the door to his room. Alice, still wearing her disguise, followed him inside, her confusion evident on her face.

As they entered the room, Alice forgot about her anger at him for leaving the orphanage without a word, and for searching for him everywhere.

She couldn't shake the feeling that this person in front of her wasn't quite the Alex she knew, but she also felt strangely drawn to him.

Despite her conflicting emotions, a sense of foreboding weighed on her heart, leaving her restless and unsure of what was to come.