EVIL SYSTEM

In the end, he decided not to leave the guys before reaching Magnolia.

They had been very good to him and had helped him in his time of need.

The journey so far had proven to be more dangerous than anyone had imagined, and Ben didn't want to leave them only to later find out they had died in some way when he could have helped.

Since Magnolia was the capital where the competition would take place, they could return with Tepei, while he had to continue his journey.

Having made up his mind, Ben closed his eyes and regulated his breathing.

He wanted to meditate to advance his elements. Since all of them were already at the intermediate level, he focused on improving his primary element, lightning.

The intermediate and elemental levels were very different. At the elemental level, you had to absorb small particles of your element to form a star.

To reach the intermediate level, you had to have formed 50 stars in your consciousness. During the process of advancing to the intermediate level, these stars merged and formed what looked like a small constellation.

Now, if someone wanted to go from the intermediate to the advanced level, they had to form 5 of these constellations.

In short, to reach the advanced level, he had to form 200 more stars. It was like going from the elemental to the intermediate level five times.

This was one of the reasons there were so few advanced mages in the country.

And that's why they were the elite of society.

Only they could hold titles like CEO of a major company.

Only they were eligible to be presidential candidates.

Only they occupied high administrative positions like governors or mayors.

They were the ones who truly controlled the country.

The first idea that came to Ben's mind was to use his cheat and advance very quickly with his evil points.

But he had already noticed a pattern when forming stars with his system.

For every star he formed, the next one cost twice as much.

At the intermediate level, forming one star required 5 evil points.

After doing a quick calculation, Ben took a deep breath when he realized that just forming 18 stars would cost more than the evil points he currently had.

And each new star would cost double.

That is, if for his 18th star he spent 1,300,000 points, to form the 19th star, he would need 2,600,000.

That was insane, and that was without even thinking about forming 181 more stars.

It was unsustainable, especially since Ben had 4 elements and therefore needed to form 800 stars.

That's why the best way to create new stars was through meditation and using the pendant his grandfather had given him.

Evil points could be used to buy spells, abilities, gifts, and even stars, but only in emergencies.

Ben meditated all morning during the trip until they had to stop to eat something.

His meditation was fruitful, as he managed to form two lightning element stars.

Now that he remembered, Ben was already at the intermediate level in the summoning element, which meant he could perform another summoning.

Ben looked at Cerberus, who was being fed by Shen Huiliang, and shook his head.

They got back into the vehicles and continued their journey.

For a long time now, the road had been steep.

Magnolia was located at an altitude of 4,000 meters, so from now on, it was all uphill.

Ben continued meditating in the afternoon but only managed to form one more star. His head started to hurt badly, and his vision became blurry.

*I guess that's my limit.*

Ben shook his head, trying to shake off the dizziness, and stared at the pendant around his neck.

He took it out and looked at it for a long time.

This was a pendant his grandfather had found, but they didn't actually know all its functions.

Only the ones his grandfather had discovered.

In fact, there was a possibility the pendant could do or have one more function.

Unbeknownst to Ben, the unknown girl was staring intently at his pendant with wide eyes and began to tremble.

Unaware of this, Ben remained lost in his thoughts.

*If I keep this pace, I can reach the advanced level in just over two months and all four elements in just over nine.*

*That's too slow,* he thought to himself, frowning.

If anyone heard his thoughts, they'd think he was crazy.

For example, Becca, who had awakened her element but after almost a year hadn't been able to form 10 stars to enter the basic elemental level.

Or his father, who in over 30 years hadn't been able to reach the intermediate level.

The journey continued with Ben trying to advance in his martial arts. He was getting better at listening with his ears, although he had taken very little time to practice the movements.

The guys and Dante stopped in a small town called Glasswilde.

While the guys booked a relatively cheap hotel, Ben and Dante went out to eat alone.

On the way, Dante returned the 5,000 argens Ben had given him.

"I didn't need them," he said with a smile. "They're good guys. When I told them I needed to stay one more day, they all agreed."

"Yeah," Ben nodded. "They're good guys."

"But keep the money," Ben didn't reach out to take it. "You've seen how much money I have now."

Dante hesitated.

"Relax," Ben patted his shoulder. "When I had nothing and was in desperate need, you helped me."

"It's normal for friends to share things," Ben smiled. "And there's nothing better than sharing joys."

Dante clenched the money tightly.

"Thank you," he whispered softly.

"Don't worry," Ben smiled and patted his shoulder. "Between friends, there's no need to say thank you. Or have I ever thanked you for letting me ride in your minivan?"

Dante smiled. "You're right."

A smile returned to his face, and he started talking excitedly.

"So, what are we eating? Burgers?"

Dante stopped when he didn't get a response from Ben. He looked to his side but didn't see him, then looked back.

Ben was standing still, stunned. His gaze was fixed in the distance, and his whole body was trembling uncontrollably.

Following Ben's gaze, Dante saw a man shopping at a supermarket.

His behavior was clearly effeminate, and he had a smile on his face.

A smile that only made Ben's expression darker.

"What's wrong?" Dante asked.

Ben didn't answer and kept staring at the man.

He watched as the man shopped, laughed, paid, and left the supermarket.

He followed him from a distance so as not to be noticed. Dante stayed behind Ben, not knowing what was happening.

When the man passed near an alley, Ben suddenly moved.

In a burst of speed, he appeared next to the man and covered his mouth to prevent him from screaming.

The man struggled, and the groceries in his hands fell to the ground, but he couldn't make a sound.

With ease, Ben dragged the man into the alley.

Dante watched this with wide eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing.

Ben dragged the man through several alleys until he found the darkest and most deserted one.

The man writhed in panic, but Ben simply threw him against the wall.

*Urgg!!*

The man groaned, clutching his back in pain.

He looked up at Ben with complete confusion on his face.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this? Do you want money?" The man pulled out his wallet and threw it at Ben.

But Ben just stood there, watching him with a cold expression, even as the wallet hit his chest and fell to the ground.

The man immediately noticed this attitude.

"What do you want?" he asked again.

"Do you really not remember me?" Ben asked.

The man was baffled, not knowing how to respond.

"That's fine," Ben nodded and approached the man. "I'll make you remember."

"Wait—" the man tried to stop Ben, but a punch to his stomach made him vomit everything he had eaten.

His eyes bulged, and he felt like Ben had taken half his life with a single blow.

Besides making him vomit all his food, all the air in his lungs also left, and his legs trembled, unable to support his own weight.

Ben didn't care at all.

"I told you!!" Ben landed several punches that drew blood from the man. "I TOLD YOU I'D KILL YOU!!!"

Punch after punch, Ben turned the man's body into a bloody mess.

He had shattered his head, broken all his limbs, and even opened his torso, but Ben kept punching, covering his face with the man's blood.

Ben stopped to look at the bloody mess on the ground.

"Even if you don't remember me, I remember you... Victor."

A short distance away, Dante, who had followed him, stood frozen and in shock.

He had never imagined Ben was capable of such violence.

He felt scared and disturbed by what he saw.

But above all those emotions, the one that prevailed was fear.

Fear that his friend would be discovered and arrested by the police.

"What are you doing, idiot?" Dante shook Ben. "We have to get rid of the body!!"

Ben looked at him with wide eyes.

"Are you really Dante?"