Chapter 341 : Gods’ Marks (1)

    "Hoh, such bold words," Alex replied, his trademark teasing smile sticking to his lips. "Aren''t you worried that I might misinterpret what you said?"

    "Why would you—Oh." Freya''s eyes suddenly widened in realization. "I didn''t mean it like that!"

    Alex burst into laughter. "I know, I know, just joking," he said between chuckles.

    "I didn''t mean it like that, but..." Freya paused, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "I''m not necessarily against it."

    Now it was Alex''s turn to be caught off guard, his eyes widening slightly in surprise. He hadn''t expected that kind of reply. A moment later, though, he let out a hearty chuckle. "You know, you''re very different in public compared to when we’re alone. It''s kinda cute."

    "Well, you’re different from others," Freya replied, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks.

    "How so?"

    "Well, I like you," she said matter-of-factly, not an ounce of hesitation in her voice.@@@@

    For the second time in just a few seconds, Alex found himself momentarily stunned.

    He already knew it, of course—Freya was always straightforward. But still, hearing her say it so casually, without the slightest hint of embarrassment, caught him off guard. Then again, he should have expected it. She was the type to speak her mind, no matter what, even if it meant confessing her feelings outright.

    For a split second, he felt something close to embarrassment creep up on him. Only for a split second, though.

    Quite frankly, he liked Freya’s character. ''I''m sure she would get along just fine with Lilia,'' he mused. Externally, though, he shifted from his seat, moving to sit just a few inches from the matriarch. "Good thing I like you as well then," he said, closing the gap between them even further.

    "Is that so?"

    "Of course." Alex nodded, leaning in until he was close enough to feel her warm breath against his skin—and for her to feel his.

    The final gap between them vanished. He was mere inches from tasting her lips once more when he suddenly felt her delicate hand press against his chest, stopping him in his tracks.

    Before he even had time to wonder about the bracelet’s significance, a series of transformations unfolded before his eyes, each one more startling than the last.

    The first and most immediate change was to the aura surrounding Freya. Up until this moment, Alex had assumed she was a normal human. She had shown no signs of possessing any sort of power. There had been no fluctuations in mana around her, no subtle hints that she was anything other than what she appeared to be.

    But now? That assumption was being shattered.

    The air around her grew heavy, charged with an unseen force. Her aura surged and condensed, rapidly stabilizing at peak Level 1. While this wasn’t an overwhelmingly high level, the sheer density of her energy was astonishing. It wasn’t just her power increasing though—it felt as if her very presence had become something else entirely.

    Yet, despite the immense shift in her aura, it wasn’t what held Alex’s attention the most.

    It was her face.

    The moment she removed the golden bracelet, something changed—not drastically, not in a way that altered her features, but something new appeared.

    A tattoo.

    Black as ink, it formed a pattern of burning flames across her left cheek, standing in stark contrast to her fair skin.

    It was mesmerizing.

    If anything, Alex thought, it enhanced her already striking beauty. The fiery design made her look like one of Earth’s mythical Nordic warriors—fierce, untamed, and hot as hell.

    But the longer he stared at the tattoo, the more an unsettling feeling crept up his spine.

    At that moment, a memory surfaced in Alex’s mind. He had seen this tattoo before. No, not this exact one, but something eerily similar—one that had evoked the same unsettling feeling creeping up his spine now.

    Alex''s eyes suddenly narrowed, his pupils constricted into pinholes as he recognized that tattoo and what it meant for Freya that have such a tattoo.

    "A God''s mark..." Alex muttered, his voice low and his gaze dark.

    Freya let out a quiet sigh before nodding. "Yes," she admitted, her tone carrying both resignation and defiance. "I have been marked by a god."