CHAPTER 234: - AURA SHOW OFF-

’What the fuck is going on?’

Max, sighting Kieran and the familiar girl embraced in a not-so-modest hug, thought to himself.

Besides these two, Max spotted three boys and two girls, their eyes affixed on him like he was some sort of alien that invaded their perfect world.

The SS Elite room was supposed to be a classroom. But what Max saw resembled a leisure suite with seven youths lazing about without a care in the world.

’Am I in the wrong place?’ Max thought briefly to himself. He couldn’t be wrong.

The silence extended as they all began to check him out.

Max reciprocated the gesture and came to realize he had once exchanged glances with everyone here except for the dude without a shirt.

Supposedly this was a classroom—no, suite. Meant for Combat-major SS Elites. It took a simple calculation to guess who the guy was.

’So that’s John?’

Meanwhile, unlike Max’s calm assessment, the Elites were beyond shocked by his presence.

’It’s him.’

’What’s he doing here?’

’Shouldn’t it take at least a month to pass the S-Elite test?’

’Huh? Isn’t he Evelyn’s brother who we teased yesterday?’

’Did he lose his way around?’

Though the thoughts between both girl and boy Elites varied, it all still came to one conclusion.

’What was Max doing here?’

As if to answer their questions, Max confidently strode in.

Raising his right hand with his left tucked in his pocket, he waved it slightly and said, ’hello.’

His greeting seemed to shatter their thoughts, forcing them to react.

Ash recovered his jovial façade and smiled, waving right back at him.

–

"Well, if it isn’t the prodigious Max. I thought it’d take a while before our paths crossed again."

Letting go of Zara’s ass, Kieran sneered with stern eyes, not knowing his words resonated with the thoughts of the girls.

It was only yesterday that they directed him to his class. Never did they think he would be here so soon.

Seeing Kieran stride toward Max, Dominic and John exchanged intrigued looks.

Ash almost stepped in, but ultimately chose to watch instead.

"Are you lost," Kieran asked arrogantly, "or just here to snoop around?"

His eyes carried a clear warning. Max had stepped into their territory without following the proper procedure—or so he thought.

’Damnation. I thought I no longer had to deal with these arrogant pricks anymore.’

Max felt irritated to no end. His smooth mingling with S Elites made him forget the arrogance they had towards lower-ranked students.

His eyes got colder the closer Kieran got, exhibiting an extremely nonchalant aura around him.

[Passive Ability: Silent Aura is revealed.]

Max didn’t bother glancing at the system’s pop-up notification.

When he willed his hidden Passive Ability to take effect, the atmosphere surrounding him changed as it began to encroach on the whole space.

Although his silent streak had been disrupted when he said hello moments ago,

his change in temperament was enough to leave everyone present shaken, causing them to assume serious, stern looks.

Max was like a predator who had suddenly torn off his docile disguise.

Facing the full brunt of his presence, Kieran felt like he was walking toward an overwhelming wall that towered above him in everything.

A shallow feeling of inferiority bloomed in his heart as sweat quickly pooled on his forehead.

’What is this feeling?’

As someone who was naturally confident in his ability, birthing unbridled arrogance after he became the second-ranked Elite, Kieran never thought he would feel like this one day. Not even John, the first-ranked SS Elite, could make him feel like this, as the disparity between them wasn’t that large.

While the boys felt threatened and dazed by Max’s temperament, the girls had their eyes affixed on one scene...

Max calmly walked toward Kieran with one hand tucked in his pocket.

Although Kieran had lost much momentum, this little bit of accumulated aura wasn’t going to make him shiver and fall on his knees. He shouldered the inferiority in his heart and kept walking forward despite the invisible pressure.

Soon what should have been a scene of Kieran looking down on Max with pride and arrogance was reversed.

Both figures stopped an arm’s length away.

Max was calm and disdainfully nonchalant, whilst Kieran had beads of sweat trickling down his forehead with a stubborn grin on his face.

’If you want a fight, I will gladly offer you one.’

However, despite his thoughts, Max stunned them—including Kieran.

"Neither. I’m here to stay as an Elite."

When he spoke, the threatening presence about him diffused like a plume of smoke.

The accumulated tension in the air vanished like it was never there.

For unknown reasons, John, Ash, and Dominic instinctively felt relieved.

In contrast, Sasha, Zara, and Briar seemed like they had been freed from a spell, left to reminisce the faint aftertaste of the charm that bewitched them.

Gazing at Max with a renewed impression of him, their eyes hid varying glints from their curious thoughts.

—

"Oh man. I was hoping you two would go in to exchange a couple of blows so I can gauge the standard of our new Elite."

A loud, casual, lukewarm voice instantly diffused the awkward tension that was about to build up, drawing their attention.

Resting on the wall next to the entrance was a man in black pants and a white shirt, the sleeves casually rolled up and a loose tie hanging around his neck, dusting off the butt of a lit cigarette.

The countenance of the Elites didn’t change, expressing that they were familiar with the man.

When they heard the man’s words, however, they glanced at Max—surprise etched on their faces while reserving their thoughts.

"He’s very much earned the right to be here and contend against you if need be."

Clap!

"Enough chit-chat and dress up. Let’s leave here."

With these words, the Elites drew a deep breath and got up, boarding the bus through the secret tunnel till they exited at a private airport.