When The System Spoils You For No Reason-Chapter 50 - Fifty
"Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything."
— Muhammad Ali
---
{So, what’s your pick?}
’It’s obviously 10% of his total stats.’
{That’s a thousand stat points.}
’I know. I went to school. Even if I didn’t, I have Knowledge of All Mundane Things.’
{Okay, okay, no need to flex.}
’Spread the stat points to Strength, Agility, and Perception until they reach a thousand points each, then add the rest to Agility.’
{Yes, sir.}
’Now. Time to look for some loot.’
He licked his lips, a flicker of anticipation lighting his metallic grey eyes as he stepped into the shadowed mouth of the cave. The air inside was cool and carried the faint, mineral scent of untouched earth—and everything buried beneath it.
"Nice work," Kai said, swinging an arm around Zeke’s shoulders as the trio caught up to him—just long enough for him to finish allocating his stats, which now read:
Strength: 1000 (S Rank)
Agility: 1107 (S Rank)
Endurance: 1000 (S Rank)
Perception: 1000 (S Rank)
Magic Power: 1790 (SSS Rank)
...
"As expected," Jude said, pulling him into a firm, respectful dap.
"Mad Dog strikes again," Aaron added, miming Zeke’s activation of Unseen Severance with a quick, sharp swing of his hand.
"Indeed, Mad Dog. Having a full conversation with a demon." Anton reached over and ruffled Zeke’s silver-streaked hair with deliberate roughness, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Impressive."
"WTF, man?" Zeke pulled away, smoothing his hair back with a mock scowl.
"Come to grandpa." Anton advanced on him, mischief gleaming in his eyes. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
"Help! A creepy four-thousand-year-old geezer is trying to grape me!" Zeke bolted deeper into the cave, arms flailing, his voice caroming off the stone walls.
"Ayo!!"
"False accusations are a man’s downfall."
"Hmm hmm," the trio agreed in unison, nodding with grave solemnity.
"The legal system does not favor men," Kai added sagely.
"Indeed," Anton said, matching his tone exactly.
"That’s rough, buddy." Zeke slowed just long enough to pat Anton on the shoulder with exaggerated sympathy. "Next time, try not to approach minors."
"You bastard—" Anton lunged after him.
"Pedo! Obsessed with kids!" Kai joined in without missing a beat.
"Keep him away from Megumi!" Aaron finished, and their laughter rolled through the cavern as they ran, bright and chaotic, bouncing off every wall.
...
Silence.
A heavy, unsettled quiet descended over the heirs as they watched the Mad Dog and his crew disappear into the cave’s depths, their voices fading until only the echo remained.
Michael was the first to move. "I have better things to do," he said, a faint smile on his lips as he got to his feet and brushed the dust from his clothes. He walked away without a backward glance, moving toward where his entourage waited nervously at the edge of the clearing.
Enel rose next, unhurried, his movements carrying a quiet exhaustion beneath their composure. Eve rested at his hip—silent, a little heavier now than it had been before. "It seems I must check on my group as well. I haven’t seen them in days."
"What’s that to us?" Daniel muttered, one hand pressed against his aching ribs.
"Oh, I’m just giving you excuses," Enel replied, not bothering to look back. "So you can all get off your asses and accept that we’ve been outclassed. Take your men and go—the dungeon will close soon." His tone was detached. Almost bored.
"It must be heartbreaking," Zhōu Chénhào said, his voice cool and precise, "to arrive with such a large team and still walk away with nothing. You even had your clan’s men... poached."
"I don’t really care." Enel kept walking. "But if you’re looking for a reason to fight me, I’ll take you—anytime, any day." He let the statement land, then followed it with a low, unhurried laugh that carried cleanly through the thin air.
Rosaline’s gaze drifted toward the cave entrance, lingering. "Either way—it’s best we leave before they come back."
"Tsk." Daniel turned and stomped toward his group, where his attendants rushed forward with health potions and anxious faces.
...
"Now that was a harvest," Kai said brightly, his voice bouncing off the cave walls as the group emerged into the open air—steps lighter, inventories considerably heavier.
"Huh?" Aaron scanned the campsite. Empty. Trampled earth, scattered debris, the faint, acrid tang of spent magic. "Where’d everybody go?"
Anton doubled over laughing, hands braced on his knees. "They were that afraid of the Mad Dog—they didn’t even try to negotiate for their share!"
"Heh." A sharp edge crept into Zeke’s amusement. "Would you have given it to them?"
"Of course not. But it would’ve been fun watching them try."
"They ran so they wouldn’t have to pay you back for saving them," Jude said, matter-of-fact.
"Yeah. I did tell them they’d owe me."
"So then—what are we to you?" Zeke said, a teasing smile pulling at his mouth.
"Strangers. Obviously." Anton straightened, pointing at him without hesitation.
"I’m hurt." Zeke pressed a hand to his chest, wounded. "Especially after I heard you were going around calling me your partner."
Anton opened his mouth, closed it, then let it go.
"Anything I should know?" Zeke asked, his tone dropping into something quieter, more deliberate.
"Not really. And honestly—" Anton tilted his head, "—I think you prefer not knowing. The spontaneity suits you."
Zeke considered it. "Maybe. Maybe not."
Their hands met—a firm, brief shake, the kind that meant more than either of them said.
"Take care of my brother, immortal bastard."
"Worry about yourself. House Aurelius won’t be kind to you."
"I’m a four-thousand-year-old regressor. They couldn’t catch me if I stood in the middle of The Expanse and waved. You’re the one with a whole guild to protect."
"They wouldn’t dare."
"Hehe."
Whoosh.
Anton was gone. In his wake, a faint shimmer hung in the air where he’d stood, and a smooth, pebble clattered to the ground at Zeke’s feet. A beat of silence—then his voice drifted down from the top of the nearest crystalline hill, clear and unhurried:
"See ya when I see ya."
...
"Alright, boys." Zeke turned toward where the mana-truck sat gleaming under the dungeon’s ambient glow. "Time to move."
He paused.
Well—the dungeon was about to close. They’d all be teleported out regardless.
Zmmm—
A low hum rose from beneath the ground, resonating up through the soles of their feet. The light around them warped and bent, reality flexing at its seams.
"Would you look at that." Zeke glanced back at the truck. "No use for you anymore, Truck-kun."
With a swing of his hands he kept the truck in his inventory.
Space folded.
They were out.
...
Enel materialized in the staging area outside The Expanse, the dry wind of the real world pressing against his face. He stood still for a moment, letting it settle.
"Get the group together and report to the head of the house." His voice was quiet and even. "I’m going into closed training."
"Yes, Young Lord."
...
Anton reappeared outside the dungeon and immediately pressed two fingers to his temple.
"I’ll probably sleep for a few days," he muttered. "My plans went through a lot of reconstruction." A short exhale. "Fucking Mad Dog."
...
"Will you be meeting with him once we’re back?" one of Makima’s aides asked quietly.
"Of course not." She didn’t look up. "The White Fang Guild is going to change. That’s not Avalon’s place to involve itself in." A brief pause. "Whether those changes are good or bad—that will be up to him and his friends."
...
Michael stepped out of The Expanse alone.
"Ahh." He rolled his shoulders, exhaling slowly. "That was frightening. Mad Dog—" A small sound of recognition. "I did hear he was from the same continent as me." He tilted his head, almost to himself. "To think I’d meet someone that strong. I nearly exposed myself."
He was quiet for a moment.
Then, softly, a smile.
"At long last." His voice dropped to something private, almost reverent. "I found something worth burning."
