EVIL SYSTEM

The crowd wouldn't stop cheering and roaring with excitement.

Dante stepped forward, still holding his bass, and took the microphone again.

"What did you think of the performance?" His question was met with shouts of excitement and many requests to repeat the song.

"Unfortunately, we can't repeat the song," Dante put on a very sad face. "Remember, this is a competition, and we need to decide a winner."

"That's true."

"Wow! I'd forgotten about that!"

"Well, I don't think it'll be hard to figure out who won."

Everyone started talking and whispering among themselves.

"All contestants, please come up," Dante invited the other participants to the stage, but no one wanted to.

Even Shen Huiliang refused to go up.

Her words were: "I admit defeat. There's no other contestant who could win this competition besides Ben."

Everyone nodded and accepted her words.

Dante looked a bit uncomfortable for a second before bursting into loud laughter.

"See?! I told you he'd win without a doubt."

The audience shook their heads with a smile.

"Now we have to reward our winner," Dante spread his arms. "Unfortunately, we don't have any money, so your prize will be... singing another song!!"

Ben's eyes widened in disbelief.

"That's my prize?"

The audience laughed at the interaction between them and loudly supported Dante's decision.

"Alright," Ben shook his head helplessly. The truth was, he hadn't entered this competition for a prize. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Judy, who was watching him intently, and smiled. "I'll sing another song."

"But wait," Dante stopped him and brought his microphone closer to Ben, even though Ben already had one nearby. "Could you tell us what the previous song was called?"

"Creep," Ben said concisely.

Ben thought for a moment about what song to play next.

"I know Creep is an excellent song, but it can also be a bit depressing," Ben switched to an acoustic guitar and began playing a very upbeat melody. "So I'll play a song to lift the mood."

"Today I don't feel like doing anything."

After finishing the first verse, Ben whistled into the microphone.

"Fuuu fuu fuuu fuu."

"I just wanna lay in my bed."

"Fuuu fuu fuuu fuu."

"Don't feel like picking up my phone

So leave a message at the tone

'Cause today, I swear, I'm not doing anything."

"Uh

I'm gonna kick my feet up, then stare at the fan

Turn the TV on, throw my hand in my pants

Nobody's gon' tell me I can't, nah

I'll be lounging on the couch, just chilling in my snuggie

Click to MTV, so they can teach me how to dougie

'Cause in my castle, I'm the freaking man."

Ben smiled at the crowd, who were already humming along to the song.

"Oh-oh, yes, I said it (ooh-ooh)

I said it, I said it, 'cause I can (ooh-ooh)."

Everyone followed the chorus of *Lazy Song* after hearing it just once.

Whistles and laughter filled the air.

After Ben, the other guys took the stage and sang several songs.

The atmosphere was very lively, and the guys approached him with smiles.

Before, they only knew Dante and knew Ben was his friend, but they hadn't really felt the need to get to know him.

Amid laughter and jokes, Ben got to know each of them, but the long-awaited Judy never came.

The party lasted until very late. Although Ben hadn't had a single beer, he woke up late due to the feeling of exhaustion.

This kind of activity wasn't his comfort zone, so after a night like that, he needed to recharge his social battery.

The fraternity guys had it worse—they had to wake up with hangovers and board the bus.

Ben had to drive because Dante was one of the many who had overindulged in drinking.

Surprisingly, Ryuji also got drunk, and his dancing had been one of the highlights of last night's party.

They had breakfast and set off again on their journey.

Ben drove Bedsi almost on autopilot. He couldn't focus on the road or the act of driving.

His mind inevitably drifted to thoughts of Judy.

She hadn't sought him out last night, nor had she given him a second glance after that song.

He knew because he had been looking for her all night, but she had never looked back at him.

The day passed normally, and Judy didn't determine anything.

Ben felt a bit depressed until, on the second day, Judy and Shen Huiliang approached their group.

"I know this might sound strange at first," Judy approached them with her sweet smile. "But I was wondering if we could ride with you in your minivan?"

The joy was so sudden and surprising that Ben didn't know how to respond. Fortunately, Dante was there.

"Of course, no problem at all," Dante welcomed her with open arms.

But the vibe in the minivan suddenly became strange.

An awkward silence filled the minivan. Ben felt nervous in Judy's presence and barely spoke.

Ryuji was worse—he seemed to have a panic reaction around any woman and stayed crouched in the back, not saying a word.

The only one who seemed normal was Dante, who, after relieving Ben at the wheel, put on his songs and started humming.

Fortunately, the girls had their phones and checked them regularly. Otherwise, their decision to ride with the guys would have been very uncomfortable and boring.

After a while with more girls in the minivan, Ben slowly got used to their presence.

Judy's presence was something that bothered Ben a lot, but not in a bad way. It was almost like a physical sensation that annoyed him, like a pebble in his shoe.

He had to see her! He wanted to watch her!

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at her from time to time, and seeing her sweet smile and melodious laugh made a warm feeling spread through his body.

A smile formed on his face, as if the mere sight of her happiness made him happy too.

His heart and mind were filled with joy and tranquility.

Almost without intending to, Ben fell into a trance and began to meditate.

He meditated in a very deep way, unlike anything he had experienced before. Free from the world and its constraints, like a soul leaving the body and understanding its insignificance in the universe—and being happy with it.

Stars began to form in his consciousness as his martial arts advanced by leaps and bounds.

"What's he doing?" Judy asked, noticing that Ben had been in that state for over four hours.

Dante looked at Ben and thought this was a good opportunity to show off his friend. "He's meditating."

"Isn't he taking too long?" Shen Huiliang asked.

"Yes," Judy nodded. "The longest I can meditate is about an hour before I start getting a headache."

"You might not know this, but this guy is really strong," Dante wanted to make Ben look good in front of the girls. "At his young age, he's already an intermediate mage. And not just any intermediate mage—he's a very powerful one."

"Really?" Judy and Shen Huiliang were very surprised.

Even Ryuji's eyes widened in shock.

"Yes," Dante puffed out his chest proudly. "At his young age, he's already stronger than Tepei himself."

"Wow!"

The girls and Ryuji believed his lie.

The truth was, Dante had never seen Ben fight and didn't really know how strong he was.

He simply took Ben's words about jumping the university wall at face value and exaggerated from there.

Judy and the others looked at Ben differently now. Before, they thought he was just a very talented musician.

They never imagined he was also a very powerful mage.

In a world where power was law, being so strong at such a young age had its advantages.

For example, it was a rule that managers and directors had to be at least intermediate-level mages.

Even if Ben didn't advance beyond his current rank, he already had a guaranteed position as a manager or director.

Ben stayed in that state for about 10 hours before finally coming out of it.

Even though he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and had been in that state for so long, Ben felt full of energy and in a good mood.

His ears could hear everything much more clearly, and when he checked his consciousness, he was surprised to find many stars formed.

His summoning element now had 12 stars.

His lightning element had 3 additional stars.

His curse element also had 3 more stars.

And his darkness element had 5 more stars.

Ben clenched his fists and felt a bit stronger.

He knew that with that many stars, he could now perform his first summoning.

"Are you okay?" Dante asked, concerned, seeing Ben wake up so suddenly and act so strangely.

It was already nighttime, and the others seemed to have fallen asleep a while ago.

The only one awake was Dante, who was driving the minivan.

"Why haven't we stopped to sleep?" Ben asked.

"We got a bit delayed because of last night's party," Dante shrugged. "So we decided to drive through the night to make up for lost time."

"It's good you woke up," Dante laughed and pointed at the two girls and Ryuji, who were asleep.