Valeria City

Ezekiel couldn't shake off the feeling that he had just become a pawn in a game he didn't fully understand. 

"Have I been played by the palm of this young man from the start?" Ezekiel muttered, finding the whole ordeal to be his disadvantage from the get-go. 

It was as if his every action were anticipated by Lawrence. And no matter how much he tried to alter the course of the situation, Lawrence was always able to reverse the tide and gain back the advantage. 

As he contemplated Lawrence's departure and his cryptic remarks about the strand of mana, unease settled within him.

His secluded existence, hidden from the prying eyes of both friend and foe, had been a source of pride. 

"Seriously, how did he figure out my location? And based on his reaction, it's either he doesn't know about me or he knows about me already." Ezekiel rubbed his chin, seemingly in shock by Lawrence's behavior.

Grabbing the very booze glass that Lawrence had poured him, Ezekiel contemplated it. 

The booze was something he was unwilling to open, given that he did not want to go out to purchase some. 

But with Lawrence's bold action, he essentially created an excuse to let him drink without feeling guilty or pained, having known Lawrence would be back with higher-quality booze. 

Drinking all in one go and making the "ahh" sound in bliss, Ezekiel wondered if this was done on purpose. Like a reward for finally concocting the new potion that he had spent years researching. 

His mastery over the creation of the Aetherforge Elixir was a testament to his dedication and intellect. 

It was an undeniable achievement, and before he could even celebrate alone, here came this audacious young man, Lawrence, who had seemingly stumbled upon this carefully guarded secret.

Tilting his head, Ezekiel murmured softly, "How weird is it that a young man would be the one to pour me a glass before anyone else?" 

Despite being repeatedly called an Old Fool by Lawrence, there wasn't a repulsive or disgusted emotion in him aside from the puppy eyes. 

"Sigh, the new generation is indeed advancing fast." Ezekiel chuckled, pouring himself with a new glass. The booze was opened, so it would be rude of him to not finish it.

And as Ezekiel enjoyed his blissful moment with a somewhat average booze, Lawrence was jumping between buildings left and right.

His movement was extremely smooth, almost as if he was used to such high maneuvers with his footwork. 

Despite his smooth movement, Lawrence was void of his previous cheekiness and laughter. Instead, his facial expression was completely solemn. 

'I wondered if I would be kicked or insulted the moment I arrived there.' Lawrence pondered silently. 

He had multiple regrets in his past, but the current one that he was about to confront could be considered his most hideous and disgusting one.

If it wasn't for the fact that he didn't go back further into the past to prevent this situation from ever occurring, then he wouldn't have to deal with this problem delicately now. 

This was a problem that he would have no chance of gaining an advantage no matter how hard he tried. 

Halting his movement and standing on a rooftop that didn't seem to be much better than the shabby shop, Lawrence's eyes focused on a particular rundown house. 

The area he was in now was the "slum area" of the prosperous Tatum Kingdom.

The Tatum Kingdom had a total of 10 cities and 1 capital, with Clarkston City being one of them. Each city was governing a minimum of 3 towns, and they covered a wide acre of land. 

The Tatum Academy was surprisingly not in the capital, but a major city called Valeria. 

And within Valeria, it was a merchant paradise, with numerous advancements in technologies and trade, but despite all those glorious and prosperous moments, there are slum areas. 

Just like the name suggested, the slum areas were meant for the poor and people that aren't even qualified to be called commoners. 

It wouldn't be far-fetched to say that these kinds of people are no different than slaves. 

As Lawrence was succumbing to his thoughts of how a prosperous city could still allow such a thing, his thoughts were disturbed when he heard a commotion.

"Hmm, is it one of those cliche scenarios that's going to happen?" Lawrence narrowed his eyes and muttered. 

Usually, whenever this kind of situation happened, it meant that the target he wanted to approach was being disturbed or was the focal point of trouble.

If this was happening to someone else, then Lawrence wouldn't have paid much attention, but this was different.

It would be his chance to gain some redemption if that was the case. 

"Oh please be a hideous-looking man coming in for trouble. That way I can thrash him brutally to gain some points." Lawrence prayed and prayed for this kind of cliche event to happen. 

After all, it would benefit him greatly, and he would be a fool to let this kind of great opportunity go. 

However, his prayers seemed to have been thrown into a non-recyclable waste garbage can. 

A person was seen banging on the very door of his target, and the person wasn't hideous-looking. In fact, he could be called an above-average-looking man.

"Tsk, still not as handsome as me though. This baby face boy hadn't even seen the world much." Lawrence clicked his tone and judged the boy to be mediocre right away.

While he was judging the boy, the "boy" continued to bang on the door and began shouting.

"Agatha, please come out and listen to me. I will surely be accepted to the Tatum Academy and at that time, I'll get revenge for you. Please give me a chance!" 

A few seconds later, the door started creaking, but only for a small opening. 

"Leave me alone, Cedric. I don't want to see you anymore. And I don't care about your goal." A female voice resounded, clearly Agatha if one was paying close attention. 

**Don't say this is padding word count for chapter because this chapter is 1k word count. I, Lawrence, is merely stealing the author's pen temporarily to give my thanks for my beloved fans.**

Lawrence: Ahem, hello everyone! Now before anyone leave and go to the next chapter (if it's even updated by this lazy author). I wished to give a shoutout to two amazing and generous people, The_Sweet_Sparrow and One_Winged_Angel. Thanks for your castle donation, it really made me feel special. Now, if this shameless author was here, can you write and update faster ? My fans are eager for my appearance! Psst, want a shoutout? You can do the same. And yes, I'm shameless and willing to admit it unlike this trash author.