Villain Hiring: Help! Author Wants Me Dead-Chapter 124: Truth Or Trigger (2)

"Truth." She let out, surprising quite a few people in the room. They did not expect the shy girl to be bold enough to choose truth.

Aurelia tilted her head. "What kind of magic do you hate?"

Seraphina hesitated. "Anything that is related to darkness. Shadow magic… makes me freeze up."

[Answer Accepted]

Huh.

That one wasn't funny, I did not expect the girl to be dumb enough. Then again, with the orb observing our aura's like a creepy stalker, we didn't have much of an option but to say the truth.

A soft silence followed.

The orb spun again.

[Player: Isla Romero]

"Trigger," she said quickly.

[Challenge: Infuse an everyday object with your magic.]

She pulled a ribbon from her sleeve and whispered into it. Frost crept along the edge, encasing it in icicles.

She flicked it to Aurelia, who caught it mid-air.

[Skill Detected: Frostbinding – Level 2]

'Show-off.' Damien said from inside my head, talking less than usual nowadays.

I did not even realise when the orb spun as another name was called.

[Player: Kael D. Romero]

"Truth." The boy said.

Ciel asked him, "Who here would you not want to fight?"

Kael didn't even blink. "Vayu."

Everyone glanced toward the pale boy sitting quietly near Lucas, and I was still curious to kmow what this boy's powers where for everyone to fear him so much.

[Answer Accepted]

As if listening to my thoughts, the orb stopped at the said boy.

[Player: Vayu Romero]

"Trigger," the blond haired boy said, voice soft.

[Challenge: Displace an object using elemental force]

He raised his hand, and the cup in Lucas' hand suddenly started floating, carried by a gentle breeze.

[Skill: Wind Manipulation – Level 4]

…fuck

'His skill level was at par with mine, maybe even higher—'

Simple.

Clean.

Controlled.

Kael gave himself a subtle nod, as if being proud of his opinion of Vayu being one of the current strongest heirs among all of our cousins.

The ball spun once again and I did not expect it to choose the person it did since she was technically not even a part of this family.

The girl sat atop her pink and white bunny themed throne, and the weirdest part was that the bunny design on it actually made it seem scary.

Grandpa had clearly shown favourable treatment to the girl, making it sure to the heirs to not make trouble with her.

[Player: Pixie (Guest)]

"Truth," she said, her eyes sparkling.

Lucas smirked, already having what to ask her prepared.

"What's your connection to Noah?"

Pixie grinned. "He saved my life, then kidnapped me, then tried to abandon me. But he's cute, so I stayed."

I covered my face, almost embarrassed at her strange descriptions. "Pixie—"

"Shh. It's canon now." The girl let out, making me get even weirder stares from everyone else.

It was like even the orb seemed amused.

[Answer Accepted.]

Next came the person because of whom the whole game of supremacy actually started.

[Player: Lucas D. Romero]

The purple eyed guy leaned back in his chair as he calmly let out. "Trigger."

[Challenge: if you had to create a temporary bond with another heir, who would it be?]

The boy seemed to not even give the matter much thought as he instantly held his hand out to Vayu.

A golden thread of mana formed as it connected the both of their figures together.

Only this time, it shimmered stronger.

[Skill Enhanced: Mana Thread – Level 5]

Huh?

The whole crowd of people in the toom turned silent as everyone stared at the new notification like fishes in a pond.

Level 5?

The sentient system in my head almost sighed as its non existent body seemed to turn to the purple eyed boy.

'You see that, Noah? This is exactly what I meant when I said that you need to step up your game.' The system said, continuing, 'Even when we had dedicated the whole first of the 3 months in killing everyone we can and upgrading your skills, this boy still beat you in it. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

It is also because of the fact that he is one of the main characters in the story and has an important role to play…but even then.

According to the life the Author had layed out for you, you should have already had both your skills level up to atleast Level 6.'

I grit my teeth, realising how I was now weaker from the very person I called a clown when we met a few months back.

'How am I supposed to protect the ones I love when I can't even keep up with people my age?'

The orb kept spinning, ignoring the mess of me that had become as it started calling names randomly.

One of my cousins had plant control.

Another could mimic sounds and magic effects for 3 seconds.

And one guy…Dario, I think, he tried to teleport, missed, and reappeared upside-down with his pants missing.

The kid got roasted for ten minutes straight—

By the time everyone had gone once, the mood was way lighter.

People were teasing each other, comparing notes, even joking around.

Looking at my cousins who I had just started to understand a bit, I also realised that not everyone among them was going to be my allies, much less my friends.

Meanwhile. I glanced at Pixie, who was trying to toss a coin at Isla, who made it stick in the air with frost.

Lucas and Kael were arguing about sword types while Seraphina was whispering something to Aurelia.

The most surprising part was that these people no longer saw me as some suspicious outsider anymore.

I was the guy who lost a fight to a squirrel.

Go figure.

The orb pulsed one final time.

[Phase One Complete.]

[Phase Two: Team Battle Begins Soon.] [Teams Will Be Randomized.]

Venus stepped forward again, appearing besides where the orb was floating in the middle of us. "You've learned a bit about each other.

Now it's time to see what you do in the field. Next round? Simulation combat. Mixed teams. Randomized powers. Win, and you can choose any single item from the house treasury. Lose, and… well, don't lose."

Pixie leaned toward me. "If I get teamed with Aurelia, I'm jumping off the map."

I smirked, finding comfort that maybe I could really fit among these annoying bunch of my family members as I shot back at Pixie. "If I get teamed with Dario, I'm jumping too."

We both laughed.

The game wasn't over.

If anything, it was just starting to get more fun.

***