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Alex dragged his body and rested at Matthew’s side underneath the tree . He used all the strength he had left to move underneath the tree and sat there . At this moment Alex was unable to move his body . This was happening since, he had used RELEASE beyond what his body was capable of handling . He was even tempted to use RELEASE at a hundred percent, but that would cause more problems than just losing to Lyner .

Still in the end he and Matthew had won against an SS rank merc . Lyner might have had a lot of handicaps but a win was still a win . That’s what Alex was trying to convince himself off, but he just couldn’t . That was the most pathetic victory he had achieved, over the recent years . He won by dumb luck, if he didn’t listen to his instincts at the last moment, he would’ve lost .

Alex thought he had gained the power to be the strongest, he even sacrificed his emotions and a bit of his memories to become what he was now . Yet this battle proved that he wasn’t quite there yet . Lyner was stronger, faster, and had better technique than him, and it didn’t feel like he had to give up something to gain that strength .

Was it really all about experience? If that is so, then what was the point of giving up everything he was, the him of the past, the him before meeting Carlo, he gave him up for strength . Yet here was a person who had given up nothing, who fought for fun, and was only trying to find a worthy challenge . He had the strength Alex had hoped to gain .

While Alex was thinking about how Lyner got to be so strong he heard Matthew started groaning beside him . After a short while Matthew opened his eyes . He couldn’t move a muscle same as Alex, since he overused his pseudo RELEASE state .

He couldn’t feel his body, and it seems like at the moment only his head could move . He looked around by moving his head and saw Alex sitting next to him .

"So did we win?"

"Yeah . "

"I see . . . " Matthew’s boisterous self seem to calm down for the moment, as he sat there in silence . Matthew was currently having conflicting feelings, beside him was the rival he wanted to defeat but at the moment he didn’t feel like fighting Alex .

His pride has been damaged a bunch of times, ever since he met his rival again . He thought that he was already at the top of the food chain, and everyone else aside from his master was not worth mentioning .

He knew about the other SS rank mercs but he believed the only thing going for them was their experience . Yet today as he faced one that wasn’t his master, he felt the disparity of their skills . Lyner was at a level that was far beyond him, and unlike his master who was already old . Lyner was a young SS rank merc . It would mean that Lyner could still improve, and if he does the gap between him and Lyner would only get larger .

Matthew didn’t want to acknowledge Lyner’s strength, since it would wound his pride even more, but he had no choice . Lyner’s strength was the real deal . He and his master might be at the same level at the moment, but what about a few years later? His master was getting older and getting weaker by the day . While Lyner was still able to improve himself .

"We won . . . But why do I feel so sh*tty?" Hearing Matthew complaining by his side Alex felt the same way . He knew what Matthew was feeling right now, since he too felt the same, Alex was nearing his limit as well .

"It’s because we only won by luck . " Hearing Alex answering his question that he didn’t want answered made Matthew click his tongue .

"I hate it when I agree with you . . . " After saying that the two of them once again turned silent . Right now the two had nothing else to do but look at the surrounding area .

They were under the shade of a tree, they could smell water from the spring . While the gentle breeze tickled their skin . This place was very calming, and the weather was perfect .

The two sat their in silence as they appreciated the scenery .

. . .

"Hey, Alex back there . . . Why did you save me?" Matthew finally asked the question he wanted to hear an answer to . He was now able to ask Alex nicely as his pride at the moment was in tatters .

" . . . I’m not really sure, but I think it was because you called me your friend . " When Matthew heard this he was shocked, and looked at Alex . As usual Alex’s expression was his same old stoic face, but somehow at this moment it felt different .

"Just because of that? If Lyner wasn’t able to control his rage, we could’ve died back there, and you saved me risking your own life, just because I said we were friends? . . . " Matthew couldn’t understand it, the Alex he knew was someone cold and calculating . He wouldn’t move based solely on emotions, and that was another thing . Matthew always thought Alex had no emotions, but turns out he had some, Matthew just couldn’t see beyond that poker face of his .

"That’s more than enough reason . . . You know Matthew ever since I came here, I met all kinds of people . I learned a lot from these people, they reminded me of things I have long discarded and forgotten . " Alex who recalled all the events that transpired ever since he came back from the battlefield, couldn’t help but smile .

Matthew who was looking at Alex was surprised to see him smile . This was the most shocking thing he had ever witnessed in his whole life . He was sure that Alex’s poker face would remain the same until the day he died, yet here he was smiling .

Matthew seeing this old rival of his smiling so cheerfully made him chuckle .

"It sounds like you’re having fun . "

" . . . Huh, I guess I am . "

"These people that you met what kind of people are they?" Matthew couldn’t help but ask . He was really curious about the people that were able to change Alex so drastically .

"They’re my friends . " Alex answered without hesitation, which made Matthew smile .

"I see . . . Hey Alex, can you tell me the story of how you met these friends of yours?"

"It might take a while to tell that story . "

"We got nothing else to do, so why not?"

"You’re right, very well . It all began when I came here with my father who gave me a very weird mission . "

Alex started telling the story of how he met his friends . How he had a lot of fun times with them . How he started to grow as a person .

Matthew sat their silently as he listened to his rival’s story .