Argus and Astrea answered together.
Michael was not shocked, seeing that the two of them were with Rex's group; either they already joined him or they had other connections with him. Anyway, he was not really serious about inviting them.
"That's really a pity. Since you refuse, can we at least go register together?"
"Sure, why not?"
Michael didn't know why this average-looking guy was the one answering his questions, but since Astrea was not against it, he took that as an answer.
Whispers started to spread around them.
"What guts!"
"They refused the invitation of the heir of the Lumiere Clan."
"The beautiful lady was one thing, but even that boy also refused?"
"Who is he?"
Different reactions could be heard from the crowd. Most of them were shocked and disdainful of Argus.
"Argus Orpheus? Where have I heard that name? Wait... Elite Lister? That person?"
Some people already guessed his identity.
"A commoner who awakened and became a Unique Class Summoner. Tsk, trash job, trash class."
"Who does he think he is? He was lucky enough to be a Unique Class Awakener but refused the invitation of the Young Master of the Lumiere family."
"What type of future does this guy have? Does he think his status is of equal value to that of an heir of a great family? Too arrogant."
"I thought he was part of the genius list. Tsk!"
Similar kinds of thoughts appeared among some people. Without Argus knowing, he had already attracted the attention of many mobs just by having this short conversation.
They didn't need to line up, as many Human Awakeners opened a path for their two groups. Every race had its own line for registration, as mixing them could easily cause conflicts. Some races had good relationships with others, while some carried old grudges. The Academy wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble as much as possible.
After completing their enrollment, Argus and Michael's groups walked outside the colosseum.
"Do all of you want to attend the auction together with me?"
Michael asked casually.
"There's no need for that. We don't want to trouble you any further,"
Astelle replied before Rex could open his mouth. She didn't want to risk any more annoying incidents, especially with how easily Rex and Michael clashed. She already had her hands full dealing with her brother's and Rex's noisy personalities; adding Michael to the mix would only give her a headache.
This was different from what she had been thinking earlier. Astelle had originally wanted to see if Argus could provoke Michael, but it seemed Michael was much calmer than she expected. Rex also stayed quiet, though he couldn't hide his slight disappointment that his friend hadn't stirred anything up.
"Well then. I have other plans after this. I'll take my leave. We can hang out another time if the opportunity comes."
Michael said, still maintaining his polite and composed demeanor. Astelle released a sigh of relief as he departed. She then noticed that Argus and Astrea were also leaving.
"Where are you two going?"
"Oh, I'm going to ask old man Vulcan something."
Argus answered.
"If that's the case, then let me come too. I was planning to visit his shop before the auction anyway. I also want to ask him something."
Rex said.
"What? That's convenient. I was just about to ask you guys to join us, but it looks like we have the same plan."
Kelvin added.
"Does it have something to do with the weapon he forged?"
Astelle asked, already having an idea of why they all wanted to visit Vulcan.
"Yeah."
The three answered honestly.
Astrea stood there, wondering what they were talking about.
***
"Young Master, that Argus was rude to you. You should have teach him a lesson."
"Argus? You know him?"
"Yes, that's the person I was talking about. I hate to admit it but that person has the same talent as that Rex. That's only before the awakening, I don't know if he was still that strong having being a summoner. I bet he didn't even have money to buy a decent summon."
Dayn said while talking to Michael.
"As talented as Rex, is it? His aura was so weak that he looks ordinary? Skill perhaps? Doesn't matter, what I was more interested is that Astrea. My intuition is telling me she's the same as Astelle. If I make them part of our clan would be the best but getting them to join us would be hard."
Michael seriously contemplated. He ignores Argus as he does not have interest in him. Even if he was as 'talented' as Rex like Dayn said. For some reason he hates that guy.
'To think a girl like her can be casually stop by a boy like him.'
When he thought of this a frown appeared on his mind. Dayn notice this.
"What's the matter young master?"
"Do you know the connection of that girl to him?"
"It's my first time seeing her young master. She was probably Rex's acquaintance."
"That's probably it. Investigate her for me. Send the info before the auction starts."
"Yes!"
***
"You're still eating?" Astelle asked, astonished to see Astrea still munching away. From the colosseum to Vulcan's shop, they'd been walking for almost half an hour, yet Astrea had started eating back at the colosseum and hadn't stopped since.
"What? I have a big appetite!" Astrea replied casually. "I heard you're good at cooking. Let me taste your food later."
Astrea lied, as she had already eaten Astelle's cooking.
Over the past half hour, the two had grown a bit closer. Astelle, especially, wanted to make Astrea her friend. Being the only girl in the group until now had made her feel a little out of place, but with Astrea's arrival, things were different.
In this world, strength was respected above all, and Astrea admired Astelle for that. Though Astelle hadn't shown much yet, Astrea sensed there was strength behind her calm demeanor. She liked that.
Astrea didn't want to engage in too much conversation with others, except, of course, her Master and 'siblings.' She still held onto the pride of being a Unique Monster. Another exception were Argus's friends; she didn't want to sour her relationship with them.
"So you're a Demi-Human, Lady Astrea?"
"To think you have a skill that can hide your ears and tail."
Astrea simply smiled at Rex and Kelvin's curiosity. Then, she glanced subtly at Argus. Understanding her intent, he gave her a small nod. In response, Astrea released part of her transformation. Her human ears vanished, and a pair of fluffy wolf ears appeared atop her head. A long, white wolf tail gracefully materialized behind her.
"Lady Astrea was already beautiful in her human form, but seeing her true form is something else," Rex said in awe.
"I can't deny that," Kelvin agreed.
"Yeah… Astrea, you're really beautiful. Are you sure this devil here isn't blackmailing you or something?" Astelle teased, casting a glance at Argus.
Rex, Kelvin, and Astelle all praised Astrea in what they think is her 'True Form.' While Argus simply ignored Astelle's jab and remained silent.
"Old man! We're visiting!"
Without even waiting for a reply, Argus entered the dilapidated shop. The others followed without hesitation.
"Now that we're here, can you introduce us to the fellow hiding in your shadow? And that plant monster you're carrying?"
Rex said abruptly.
He hadn't noticed it at first—the being hidden in Argus's shadow had an even weaker presence than his own. Rex wasn't surprised though. Shadow monsters could blend seamlessly into any darkness. He only noticed it because he was trained to sense subtle presences.
The plant monster, however, was obvious. Its leaves swayed from time to time, even without a breeze. Argus wouldn't carry something unimportant like an ordinary plant.
"So there really is a presence in his shadow?"
Kelvin muttered.
"Didn't you notice? Though to be fair, even for a swordsman like me, I had to focus a little to sense it."
Astelle added.
Kelvin nodded. He had sensed something earlier but wasn't entirely sure. Astelle, being a swordsman, had sharper senses compared to most normal Awakeners. In fact, just being a swordsman meant your class was already ranked Special, much like the Summoner classes.
Argus wasn't surprised that they could detect Ying Zhu. The people here were extraordinary. Plus, Ying Zhu's control over his presence wasn't perfect yet. He probably hadn't trained for it—besides, he was a knight-class undead, not a specialized assassin. He didn't possess stealth skills like Argus.
"Show yourself first."
Argus said calmly.
His shadow rippled like water and slowly expanded. Two purple flames flickered to life within it, burning quietly like a pair of eyes.
From the depths of the shadow, a figure began to emerge—a skeleton wrapped in a dark, tattered cloak. A massive butcher knife, black as obsidian, was strapped to his back. His empty eye sockets glowed with the eerie purple flames as he silently stepped out from the pool of shadow.
The shop grew still, the air heavy with an unspoken tension. Argus didn't mind as he introduce the two.