Adam walked up to them, the smug on his face getting more and more prominent by the second. From the way his friends had reacted, he figured that they must be shocked by how handsome he had become.
Hehe, as expected, my handsomeness truly knows no bounds!
By the time he had walked up to them, his imaginary tail had already started wagging. He stroked his hair and spoke with a deep tone, "My children, have you already forgotten?"
Seeing that the four were still speechless by his appearance, the grin on his face turned even brighter.
He spread his arms wide, raised his chin at a forty-five-degree angle, and looked into the distance, posing heroically.
"It is I, the renowned, highly respected, and immensely handsome Magus among Magi, Adam Constantine!"
There was pin-drop silence, except for the occasional chirping of crickets.
Failing to elicit any response from the four, Adam's lips twitched uncontrollably and he struggled to maintain his heroic pose—or what he thought was a heroic pose anyway. He cleared his throat and began once again.
"Ahem! I said, it is I, the renowned—"
"We heard you the first time." Daneli interrupted him. "What the hell happened to your face? That scar looks hideous."
Atiel innocently chimed in, "What is that sorry excuse of a beard? You might as well shave it, Adam."
"You've become uglier than before," Lisa added with a shake of her head. "Where did you get the confidence to call yourself immensely handsome? Are you blind? Or just plain stupid?"
"Uh, long hair doesn't suit you," Edward spoke awkwardly.
Every word that came out of their mouths directly stabbed Adam and hurt him more than any mana-infused arrows ever could.
Toward the end, he listlessly crouched down and started to draw circles on the ground with his finger, mumbling to himself, "You guys are so mean…"
Valerian jumped down from Edward's shoulder and strutted toward Adam. He then gently patted the latter's head, comforting him. 'Don't worry, brother. I think you're good-looking... kind of.'
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"Val…" Adam picked up the young dragon and hugged him with tearful eyes. "As I thought, you're the only one who can see it."
Edward walked up to him with a bright smile. "But I think the scar on your face is very cool, though."
"Kekeke, fatty, I know right!" Adam looked at him and grinned. He hugged Edward and then observed him from head to toe.
"You've really changed, huh? Well, I can't say I'm surprised."
Edward simply chuckled in response. Adam greeted the other three, catching up with them. They spoke for a while about the things they had experienced in the secret plane.
Listening to them speak about all the places they had visited, Adam was very fascinated. Suddenly, he looked at Edward and Lisa standing way too close to each other, comfortably no less, and couldn't help but squint his eyes.
"Oho?" He came closer to them, his lips slowly forming a smirk. "What's this?"
Adam's nostrils flared up and he drew an intense sniff as if the spirit of the primordial hunting dog had entered his body.
"I smell the stench of love."
"Adam!" Lisa's face turned redder than a tomato and she screamed at him. "W-What nonsense are you speaking?!"
"Uehehehe~" Adam made a stupid face as he rubbed his hands together. "Oh, how wonderful it is to fall in love, eh?"
"Ahhhh!" Lisa had never been so embarrassed in her life. She immediately threw a punch at Adam but ended up hitting nothing but empty air.
After dodging her punch, Adam smooched the air and clasped his hands together, his eyes flashing with vicious mockery. "Oh, what a time to fall in love~"
"Stop right there and let me hit you, you dog!" Lisa shrieked and ran after him.
"Ehehe!" Adam effortlessly evaded her attacks. But suddenly, Edward came out of nowhere and bear-hugged him, restraining him on the spot.
Adam looked at Edward with a suicidal expression and whispered, "Traitor."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"Forgive me, brother." Edward shut his eyes. "Just bear with it for once."
BAM! POW!
As Adam was getting mauled by Lisa, the elven twins were standing in the distance and looking at all of this happening with amused expressions.
Atiel suddenly asked in puzzlement, "Brother, do you think Adam got caught on purpose?"
"Of course he did." Daneli chuckled. He really liked seeing Adam getting beaten for some reason.
"But why would he do that?" Atiel asked again.
"Don't know." Daneli shrugged. "But I'm glad he did."
…
After a good ten minutes, Lisa finally flushed out all her embarrassment by beating the living daylights out of Adam. But immediately after, she fed him a healing potion.
"So, how did you get that scar?" She asked, her tone laced with a hint of concern.
Adam stared at her like an idiot. He was bamboozled. First, she beat him like he owed her money, now she was worried about him as if he were her younger sibling or something.
He just couldn't understand her.
In the end, he simply shook his head with a smile. He looked around and then replied, "First, let's get away from this place. I can't stand the smell of blood."
Everyone agreed and moved away from the battlefield. He then recounted his battle with Jeffrey, Kevin, and the rest.
As they heard him casually explain how the battle took place, their jaws gradually dropped to the floor. To say that they were shocked would be a major understatement.
Adam made exaggerated hand gestures and narrated, "…And then that bastard used a magic scroll and the Fireball went boooom! And then I threw the spear like bam and then whoosh
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})—"
With pure disbelief etched on his face, Daneli interrupted him and screamed, "Wait a damn minute! Y-You went against more than thirty Magi on your own?!"
"Uh-huh." Adam shrugged. "But technically it was the Fireball that took out a third of them so—"
"And then you survived a Rank 2: Fireball?!" Daneli's eyes threatened to pop out of his sockets.
"Yeah?" Adam replied with an innocent expression. "I didn't take that hit directly though."
Everyone was flabbergasted.
"Monster!" Only one word escaped Daneli's lips.
As everyone was struggling to come to terms with what Adam had just said, Lisa suddenly asked him with clenched fists. "What about Kevin? Did you kill him?"
Adam glanced at her and shook his head. "I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Lisa blurted out, nervousness gripping her heart. It would be in her best interest if Kevin had been dealt with.
"I mean…" Adam thought of the right words to say. "I would hope that he's dead. But I can't confirm it."
His gaze involuntarily landed on Valerian who was taking a nap in his arms.
"What are you gonna do if he's alive?" Lisa asked, anxiousness flashing in her eyes. "What about our plan?"
"Who knows?" Adam shrugged. "But rest assured, your family will be safe. Just trust me."
Lisa deeply looked at the youth, her eyes starting to redden. In the end, she nodded. "I trust you."
"Alright then!" Adam turned around and gazed at the colossal structure in the near distance.
"Let's make our way to the House of Cards!"
