Parallel Memory

[ "This is the result of your action!" ]

Lucas and Rowan were both tossed out of the ring. Rowan and Lucas' bodies were bruised. I didn't kill them so they should be grateful. Rowan started to crawl towards the exit.

The students were shocked when Lucas and Rowan fell. They stared at me like I was some kind of freak.

The students who were there to watch the battle, including the first-years, were confused. Based on their estimations, Zero couldn't harm Lucas and Rowan since they were two of the strongest students in the entire school. How could the latter fail so quickly and brutally, ending up half-dead?

In the crowd, Lisa's eyes widened. She was so shocked that she forgot to close her mouth. In her eyes, Zero was somewhat cowardly and always avoids getting into a fight no matter how much he is humiliated.

She thought it was already strange for him to accept the challenge, not to mention the power and the brutality he showed. Zero was almost treating Lucas and Rowan as objects.

He didn't care about their lives and even when they were unable to fight back, he beat them ruthlessly.

He would always goof off and spend time flirting with her, so she didn't expect this kind of power and viciousness from Zero.

Besides her, Sylvia was also stunned. Zero has again shocked her this time. He seems even stronger than Hiro.

The healer who was stationed nearby came to Lucas and Rowan and began healing them. Lucas came back to his senses, then realized he has lost, he was out of the ring.

His heart was filled with discomfort and confusion.

[ "Why?" ]

He could not understand why he lost against someone who he deemed inferior to him. He only thought that Hiro could put up a good fight since only he was Rank-E+ but they ended up losing due to some no-name first year that he didn't take seriously.

A few seconds later, people started to come around. Still, they were in astonishment and overwhelmed by disbelief but someone with faster reactions had begun to shout out in joy.

Gradually, more and more people joined in the cheering. Their voices, raised in delight, were loud and clear and could be heard for miles.

The splendid and violent battle had amazed everyone! Initially, they were surprised by Hiro's strength, which was greater than Lucas and Rowan's, and then Lucas and Rowan took a berserk pill to reverse the fight.

When it appeared that Hiro's team would lose, his teammate Zero appeared and mercilessly defeated Lucas and Rowan.

Glory and cheers always belong to the winner!

On the other hand, the two seniors looked like they had been through hell. They were Rank-E + and had taken the Berserk pill. They were displayed power similar to Rank-D - humans.

So what?

They failed anyway. The fact that they were powerful and used the pills was yet another proof of how powerful Hiro and Zero were.

Professor William looked at me, appalled.

Not only did he fail to beat Hiro and Zero but also faced criticism from students due to him ignoring Lucas and Rowan breaking the rules. In the end, he did not accomplish his goal and even got implicated in the process.

Professor William announced the winner with a bitter expression.

[ "The winner of the duel is Zero and Hiro of the first-years." ]

Everybody started to seethe.

[ "They are too strong." ]

[ "I don't think I can survive even one minute fighting them." ]

[ "I didn't know that there was another monster apart from Hiro in the first year." ] …

Many students had mixed feelings. Some were happy to have powerful humans, some were jealous and Lucas and Rowan's fans were angry.

[ "Hurry up and gather all the information about this Zero. We should recruit him to our guild."]

[ "Which class does he belong to?" ]

Many people who had guild behind them made note of the name while some took action. Zero was offered deals by some while others gave them their guild cards.

From that day forth, Zero's name was bound to be spread throughout the entire school, all thanks to this duel.

*****

I walked out of the ring. I didn't agree to join the guilds which some students offered but I did accept their guild cards.

[ "You have incredible potential. Join our guild, we will provide you with every resource you would need." ]

[ "We will give you Rank-A artifact if you join our guild." ]

[ "Zero, you are too strong. You have easily defeated two of the most powerful students." ] ...

I know that they are overestimating me. It wouldn't have been such an easy fight if Hiro didn't wear out Lucas and Rowan. However, it doesn't feel bad to receive praise.

[ "Zero, I owe you one." ]

Hiro caught up to me and said.

[ "Don't mention it." ]

I said as I walked away. When I was a step outside of the ring, I turned to look at the instructor. Professor William stared at me with a scowl on his face.

( Looks like this incident will not be the last time he messes with me. )

I know Professor William will not stop rather I think he will make more trouble for me in the future. However, there was nothing I could do.

Even the school would not help me because I don't have evidence that Professor William was the one who instigated the second-years to harass me.

This wouldn't be a problem if I was stronger than him. It is only because I lack the strength that I need to worry about Professor William.

I tightened my fists. I was unsatisfied with the present situation. I was not strong enough.

( I need more power. )

I balled my fists tight. It was like you know who caused the dog to shit on your lawn, but you didn't have any way of making him stop.

I took another look at Professor William, then shook my head and left the ring. After the duel, Professor William wasn't in a happy mood. He didn't say a word as he dismissed the crowd with a sullen face.

It is time to head home.

I took a shower and looked at the report from Tech Genesis. As I read the report sent by Aiden, I frowned.

[ "Looks like other guilds just could no longer keep their hands off my company." ]

Other guilds have offered protection to my company if we become part of their guild, according to the report. Most of them were bronze and some were silver-graded guilds.

My company is newly established, so only low-grade guilds are interested in it.

Personally, I think it's wise to join a powerful guild to avoid trouble, provided the terms and conditions are reasonable.

However, the nerve of these guilds, to ask for 50 percent of my company's revenue just for their protection. Shadow Genesis, my parents' guild which is also silver graded, would only charge 20% of profits, not revenue for protection.

Rather than going under their protection, we are literally asked to work for their guild. I sent a message to Aiden to ignore all the proposals sent by the guilds. I already have a plan on how to deal with the protection issue.

I took out my phone, opened my Edolas bank account, and checked how much money I have.

==========================

Name: Zero Elea

Account No: 19****7894

Balance: 4,546,200 E

==========================

[ "Whoa!" ]

I didn't expect to generate this much money in only one month. This money was excluding the amount that I set aside for the company.

I grew from having 10,000 users in the first week to almost a million users in a month. The app is growing popular at an insane rate.

These days, most of the reviews left by users are positive.

[ 'Love the app, easy to keep in contact with family and friends that are far away. It is easy to use for anyone. My grandpa is even on here.' ]

[ 'I have been using this app since its first launch. It reconnected me with my friends from middle school, family members I wasn't able to talk to for years. I can send messages or do video calls. TwitFlick has been the only thing connecting the city, and I'm truly grateful.' ]

[ 'Whenever I have free time nowadays, I would spend it on playing Flying Slime. This game has kept me busy for the past few days. Truly frustrating to lose when you are about to set a new high score.' ] …

The game was extremely popular among users. The game was even more popular than TwitFlick's other features like sharing videos and photos.

This is mainly because we lack content creators right now. And we don't pay the content creator. However, I will hire some people to create content, and I will also pay the people who have large views, much like Facebook.

I needed to do lots of work to expand my company. I have to hire people to manage money and other legal stuff.

I had also decided to create another game for TwitFlick since it is the most popular feature on TwitFlick.

I also had to deal with the protection issue but with the money that I have, I already know how to deal with it.

There was plenty of stuff that I needed to do.

Looks like there will be no rest for me.