I Want Gold

"Hmm, anyways, I was here to say that my grandpa has invited you," Denver said.

"Huh!? What does that old man want now?" Lex asked in confusion.

Denver gave a deadpan look to Lex and asked, "Really, bruh?"

He then shook his head and said, "Well, when I got to know you're here, In my excitement I also told that to my grandpa."

Lex facepalmed and asked, "And when do I have to come?"

"So you're not against meeting him? Nowadays, you seem to want to become an introvert and avoid social life." Denver said in surprise.

"I'm only coming because it's the old man who's asking, I can't say no to him." Lex sighed and said. 

Denver nodded and said, "Good then, come to my house tomorrow in the morning, alright?"

"Wait! But tomorrow is academy, right?" Lex asked.

Denver rolled his eyes and said, "Tomorrow is Saturday, man. Are you even forgetting that?"

"Well, I got confused by our class teacher. She said to come tomorrow." Lex said, remembering their weird class teacher.

"Hmm, I was also confused for a second. Anyway, Grandpa said that you should bring Ely with you. You know how much he pampers her."

"Tsk, so that old man's move is to meet Ely, not me. What a sneaky old fox." Lex clicked his tongue and complained.

Denver rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. He clearly knew how close his grandfather was with these two siblings, so he didn't even bother saying anything in return.

"Hmm, any plans for the new novel?" Denver asked, he was quite curious as to what novel Lex would write.

One had to know Lex was one of the greatest authors in the writing industry, but he hadn't written any new books for some time. Only continuing his old books.

That's why Denver was rather curious as to what Lex had decided to write as a comeback.

"Hehe, it's a secret for now. You should just look at yourself for now. I want to see you at the awards ceremony in one year." Lex grinned and replied.

The Novelweb Heavenly Awards, the annual and greatest award of Novelweb. It wouldn't be a lie to call it one of the greatest competitions in the literary world. Thousands upon thousands of works participate in it every year.

The previous year even had the record set with 100k+ participants. It was a huge number, but only a limited number of awards were distributed.

It was so prestigious that Lex had refused to participate in it, aside from the starting years when it wasn't famous.

Denver rolled his eyes and said, "Heh, I'll win that easily."

"Anyways, then I'm off. See you tomorrow in the morning," Denver said as he began to walk down the hill. 

Lex shook his head and began waiting for Elise. He didn't have to wait long before he caught the sight of a figure running towards him.

The auburn-haired petite girl stopped before him and asked, "Did I miss something here, brother?"

"Nothing major really, what about you? Why did you take so much time to come here?" Lex asked.

"Oh, that! Well, I just met one of our cousins, so it took some time," Elise replied.

"Anyways, so I'll be going now; come back safely, okay?" Lex said as he patted her head.

"Hey! Don't mess my hair. I still have to stay in the academy for some time," Elise said as she tried to get away from Lex's hands.

"Why?" Lex asked, his hand retreating in defeat.

"Well, one of the teachers here has an ability- Beast Taming. She asked me to be her disciple, and since we shared some properties in our abilities, I thought it would be a good idea. So for now, we're going to do some experiments, and then I'll decide whether I want to be her disciple or not." Elise said.

"Hmm, it's a good opportunity. You should learn from her and don't mess around." Lex said in a stern tone.

In return, Elise just showed him her tongue and said, "I never do that, I'm a good girl."

"Yeah, yeah, I know how good you are," Lex said. "Anyways, then see you at night."

"Bye-bye!" Elise waved her hand with a smile.

Lex walked down the hill thinking of his first day at the academy, which was completely uneventful.

[Isn't it because you just wanted to read the book?]

'Nah, I was actually thinking of my new novel. And his books helped in that. I now know which book to write.' Lex replied.

[Hmm, I'm now curious. Which one is it?]

'Hmm, you'll see it later. Besides, my target this time is to win the gold so I'll be focusing on that instead of writing a masterpiece. Though I must say, the novel I'm planning is also a masterpiece.'

[Is that so? Well then, here is the gift.]

[Ding! New mission detected.]

[Title: I Want Gold.]

[Description: Win the NHAs.]

[Rewards: Clue about your parent's whereabouts.]

[Duration: One Year.]

[Woah!!]

Lex raised his eyebrows in surprise and asked, 'They're alive?'

[If the system is telling then they should be.]

'Aren't you the system?'

[Even I'm not sure what I am anymore.]

'Tsk, but this reward is good. Now I really have to win the NHAs.' Lex smiled as he replied.

[I thought you hated your parents?]

'Nah, I just wanna kick their asses. I thought they died, but since they're alive, I might as well fulfil my wish.' Lex replied.

[You're weird as fuck.]

'Arigato!'

Since his apartment was close to the academy, it didn't take long for him to return to his home.

Entering the apartment, the first thing he did was change his clothes. He just loved the louse clothes he always wore. After that, he made himself something to eat. 

He didn't have much appetite but still made it since he knew he would spend the next few hours stuck on the laptop.

After doing everything, he dropped on his sofa and opened his laptop to start working on his new novel.