Nameless King

"Well, well, you actually have a lot of different abilities. I'm good at destruction, but you seem to be good at just about everything else." Wain grinned, sitting down in the center of the couch.

"Hah, everyone has their own peculiarities, don't they?" Elegan smiled, pressing his palms together and getting ready to listen to Wain's story. Everyone was ready; only Frigus, Edena, and Lui Bu remained.

Edena and Lui Bu looked at each other and made their way to the couch, about to sit to Wain's right.

"No!" Nicole suddenly exclaimed with a frown and stared at them as if they had done something wrong.

"What...?" Lui Bu and Edena simultaneously asked as they shuddered at the powerful pressure that Nicole was releasing.

Even though Nicole looked like an ordinary teenager, she was on the Absolute Stage, so her power was ten times greater than Lui Bu or Edena as they were still in the Fourth Chronicle.

"Come here, I'll give you my seat since I want to sit next to Wain!" Nicole said seriously as she jumped forward, right at Wain. He was puzzled as well as the others but didn't resist.

'Damn... That girl is really weird, but if you think about it that way... There's almost no one I'd call completely normal among my friends and close acquaintances.' Wain inwardly muttered looking at Nicole, who pressed hard against him.

'Agh, Nicole, you need to seriously work on your manners. You act too impulsively sometimes." Frigus sighed while shaking his head as he sat down to Wain's left.

"I have perfect manners, and what's more, you said yourself that strength is the most important thing!" Nicole said as she held up a finger, "I'm very strong, you know that."

"Pfff, you're just lucky you have that much power. If it wasn't for Wain, and the area that showed up after one of the zones increased, you never would have been able to reach this level." Frigus grudgingly hummed as he waved his hand.

He expected his words to put Nicole in her place, but it had the exact opposite effect as Nicole smirked, "Well, maybe you're right, but what you're talking about is just your assumptions. You always have to look at reality, don't you?"

Frigus frowned as his aura intensified, but he quickly calmed down, "Damn, I hate to admit it, but you're right. Anyway, don't forget that you're weaker than me or Wain, so, you shouldn't piss me off if you don't want to be the loser."

Nicole smiled slyly, but she didn't dare say anything else, since she knew that against Frigus, she really didn't stand a chance.

"Hey, are you done yet?" Reto asked with a slight smile on his face, "Before Wain starts the story I'd like to treat you to some of my best wine. Stop arguing, that's not why we're here."

For a moment everyone was puzzled, then they smiled and nodded slightly giving Reto the sign.

"Fine, in that case, let me serve you." Reto said as he took the bottle of wine in his hands and opened it. Out came a powerful, pleasant smell that seemed to be able to enchant anyone like a magic potion.

"Damn... Even though I don't drink often, I love a good one." Elegan muttered with a look of pleasure.

"I agree. Reto may not be an alchemist like us, but when it comes to wine, he does something incredible." Edena nodded confidently as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Frigus, what do you think?" Reto looked at him, slowly pouring the crimson liquid into a glass that seemed intentionally colder than the others as there was a thin layer of frost on it.

"Agh... You and Nicole definitely know my weaknesses. Wine is not my favorite drink, but apparently, this is a special case." Frgius muttered with a serious look before taking the glass from Reto's hands.

"Sure. Wain is back and judging by his complicated look we have a lot to talk about, so a great evening should be brightened up by great wine." Reto said filling the last glass with the wine that belonged to Wain.

Everyone reached forward and after a brief encounter with the glasses, took their first sip. Everyone had a different reaction as for Reto it seemed no different from drinking ordinary water while for Lui Bu it was a real challenge.

"Damn... I didn't expect that wine could be so strong!" Lui Bu exclaimed with difficulty trying to cope with the consequences of the first sip as there was still more than half left in his glass.

"Hah, you're just too inexperienced. Come to my woods, I can give you as much wine as you need." Reto smirked taking another sip, "I promise that after a month of my training, you can easily drink even a whole bottle!"

Frigus sighed as a cloud of cold steam appeared in front of him, "Reto... I understand that your training must be unusual, but this is clearly unlike anything that can make you stronger."

"Hmm? You don't think I'm strong enough?" Reto smirked, finishing his glass, "I'm on the Absolute Stage while you're on Demigod, but that doesn't mean I'm helpless against you. Let's play a game!"

Whoooooooooooosh.

At the same moment, Reto waved his hand as his silhouette blurred and disappeared before anyone could understand. Then, copies of Reto's began to appear around them; they looked exactly like him, with no differences.

"Well, how about this?" The twelve Retos smiled, holding up their chins, "Guess which one of us is the real one. If you can do it then I'll give you a special frozen wine!"

'Hmm, I was worried that Reto would be the type to stop in progression as he was satisfied with his results, but I guess I was wrong. These illusions are actually perfect.' Wain inwardly muttered looking around.

The regular illusion was no different in appearance from the original, but Reto's ones even had an identical aura, voice, movement, and scent.