CHAPTER 16 – Stopwatch.

Stopwatch.

It's just a simple word with a simple meaning and it doesn't have any grand meaning for a normal person.

However, this word causes terror to every Raider on Gaia planet, even the S-ranked Raiders are not immune to it. The reason is simple, it's because it's the title given to a very well-known Raider publicly known as Stephan Andre, the 3rd ranked over the world. Although no top world ranker actually fought each other.

It's just a ranking provided by the Raider associations of the whole world together. Now, the reason why he is so feared is not that he is an S-rank Raider it's because of his ability.

No one knows what his ability is as he never said it out, but many raiders who had fought together with him had some guesses.

From their guesses, it is said that he had an ability that allowed him to stop time, giving him the title 'Stopwatch'.

There are only two people in the whole world with time-related abilities, so, time-type abilities are very rare and as someone with a time-type ability Stephan is very famous.

Even though he looks to be in his early 40s he is actually 50 years old, he is always seen wearing a three-piece black coat and pants along with a white shirt, black tie, black formal pointed shoes, black gloves, and silver rapier attached to his waist.

Even though he was old, he still looked dashing enough that any girl in the world would throw herself at him if he asked her out.

He was the strongest Raider that Orange Country had and also the reason why the Raider Association was able to control the country without any S-ranked Raiders trying to usurp them.

Right now, he was on a mission given by the Raider Association to recruit a new S-ranked Raider, this new Raider is said to be strong enough to make another S-ranked Raider unconscious just with his mana alone.

The Raider Association decided to send the best they could since they had yet to see Stephan being defeated.

So, Stephan had been following the target and observing him since morning and when the target left with the guild leader of Crimson Lotus, he stopped observing him and took a helicopter back to the association building.

When Stephan came to the place where Alex and the group were, he had used his ability to stop the time of that place and only started the time when he was just a little away from them, though it all happened in two or three seconds since the speed of S-rankers is very fast.

To the group except for Alex, it felt like he had teleported there, but it was different for Alex.

When Stephan used his ability Alex felt some kind of restriction stopping him in the place and he could break it physically if he had a little more strength, though it didn't mean he could not break the restriction.

He could still break it with destruction energy it would destroy the skill used to stop them in place, but he didn't break it as he saw a man who had been hiding behind the gate listening to their conversation coming out of there.

After looking at the man he discovered that the man was an S-rank raider with an EX-rank skill called 'Temporal Pause'.

It was a pretty good ability, and he would plunder it when he got a chance but for now, he waited to see what the man wanted to do. So, when the man deactivated the skill and asked him to wait, he directly replied.

"All right. Let's go." The old man nodded and smiled amiably and walked inside the gate but frowned when he saw Alice and Ann following as well.

"Can you give us some privacy?" His words were not directed at Alex rather they were directed towards Alice and Ann as if telling them to go back.

"It's all right. I trust them and it's not like we are going for a fight, we are just going to have a chat, right?" Alex's words and their meanings were clear to everyone.

Alice and Ann felt happy when they heard his words while the man even though not satisfied again smiled amiably and shook his head while saying.

"Of course, we are going to talk, I am too old for fighting and stuff." Even though he said that Alex could still see that Stephan's body movement became even more fluid as if ready for anything.

When they reached the room Stephan sat on a single-seated sofa while Alice and Alex sat on the triple-seated sofa and Ann stood behind them.

Stephan just kept looking at them with a smile and Alex also kept him company in the Staring competition.

Stephan was really surprised when he saw Alex since even if he looked good in his documents, his real looks were really mind-blowing, but he had already gotten used to it, though he didn't know that it was Alex's suppressed charm, and if he saw Alex's real looks, he might start doubting his sexuality.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" When Alex felt that the staring contest had gone long enough, he spoke.

If Stephan was a beautiful girl, then he might not have had a problem in continuing the competition, but he was not, so, he let him have the upper hand. Stephan smiled as if he had won and then said.

"Why don't you want to join the Raiders Association?" Stephan asked while gesturing to the maid who came in with tea to give it to Alex and Alice.

Alex accepted the tea with a smile while Alice shook her head.

"Why should I join The Raider Association?" Alex asked while raising a brow. He liked that Stephan was being state-forward and not going to play with words.

"So that you can help the country along with me and everyone else in the Raider Association," Stephan answered with a smile as if he were stating a fact. But in the eyes of Alex, Alice, and Ann he looked stupid.

"I am straight," Alex said.

"Sorry?" Stephan didn't understand where that came from, even the girls didn't understand.

"It means, I am not into men," Alex said again, but this time girls chuckled a little seeing his expression as if he was explaining something very important.

"I know what that means, but does it have something to do with our topic?" Stephan was having a hard time maintaining his calm but he still asked.

"Yes, it does. I am straight so why do you think I would want to leave the option of fighting alongside a beautiful girl just so that I can fight along with a man and that too an old man?" Alex asked in a confused tone as if not understanding why Stephan even thought that his reason would work.

At this, Stephan's face started to change and turned a little red from anger, but it looked more like a blush to others.

Alex's face turned a little disgusted, Alice was just blushing while keeping her head lowered since she had heard Alex say her beautiful while Ann was trying her best not to let out a laugh looking at the situation, especially when she saw Stephan's face.

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