Clink, Clink, Clink!

The sound of cutlery hitting plates echoed through the canteen as the squad had their breakfast. It seemed that everybody was lost in thought, chewing silently while the rowdy noise from the other hunters in the room filled the air.

Conversations and laughter from distant tables created a chaotic background, but no one in the squad seemed to notice, their focus entirely elsewhere.

As she ate, Jasmine couldn't help but keep staring at Max, which did not go unnoticed by the dragon, but he ignored her and kept eating, pretending nothing was happening.

Lana and Daki, too, threw the dragon occasional side glances, which Jake and Jim also noticed alongside Max. In short, the girls couldn't keep their eyes off him, each for entirely different reasons.

"Okay, do you all want to just tell me what is wrong? Why the stares?" Max asked, his irritation slowly creeping in.

"Nothing." Daki quickly muttered, turning back to her plate and eating quietly, her cheeks faintly flushed.

Max raised an eyebrow as he looked toward Lana, who was staring intently at him.

"Any problem?" he asked.

"Just wondering why you decided not to tell us that you were a dragon," Lana replied. Daki lifted her head back up, curiosity and concern mixing in her expression.

"I think he didn't tell you all because he didn't want you girls continuously staring at him," Jake grumbled, continuing to eat with a casual air.

"Oh! So you knew what he was?" Lana asked, furrowing her brows in disbelief.

"Yes, I did. Any problem?" Jake asked as the female hybrid angrily clicked her tongue and threw her head back, clearly not impressed.

"I really can't believe that beings known as demons really exist. I thought it was all myth. And to think that we nearly died at the hands of one," Daki mumbled, shivering as the memories of the battle came crashing down over her.

"Believe it or not, they are real. And we might be caught up in a war we know nothing about sooner or later. All we have to do is prepare ourselves and grow stronger," Jake replied with a casual shrug, as if discussing the weather rather than life-threatening dangers.

'Grow stronger, huh?' Max thought as he stared at the empty plates in front of him. 'How about I make those close to me stronger? The threat of the Black Veil gang is still looming, and the demon threat is fast approaching. I need more powerful allies to ensure the safety of everyone I care about.'

"Anyway, I'm done eating. I will be heading to my room now," Jake said, standing up with his empty dishes and walking to submit them at the counter.

Max and Jim sighed in unison as they followed suit, exiting the hall behind him.

"Something is definitely up with that trio. I feel like they are hiding something or doing more aside from the fact that Max is a dragon," Lana muttered, her brows knitted in thought.

"I really don't think it's a wise idea to call Max what he really is all the time. I mean, there must be a reason he has been hiding it for so long. Now that we know, we shouldn't talk about it in the open. The walls have ears," Jasmine mumbled, also standing up and walking off with measured steps, her eyes thoughtful.

'Yeah, she is right,' Lana thought with a slight frown. 'Anyway, why should I care who he is? Whatever he is, it's his business. Tch!' she thought, brushing off her curiosity as she followed Jasmine, leaving Daki alone, silently finishing her breakfast.

Meanwhile, after leaving the canteen, the boys entered their room and lowered themselves onto the beds. The air was thick with unspoken thoughts, and each of them replayed the morning in their minds, thinking about the revelations, the battles, and the growing weight of what was to come. The room felt quieter than before, but that silence carried its own tension, as though the calm was only temporary.

"The way you have been in our room nowadays, it feels like it's now yours too," Jake mumbled with a slight frown.

"How long has it been now?" Max asked with a raised brow, his gaze flickering between the walls as if measuring the passage of time.

"That what?" Jim asked with an equally raised brow, leaning back slightly on the bed.

"Since we left my town," Max replied, glancing back at the familiar room.

"Should be two weeks now, I guess," Jake replied with a casual shrug, though the frown lingered just enough to show he was thinking.

"And in these two weeks, what have we been doing to advance our gang forward? Guys, we need to think long term. We need to spread our name toward more towns and increase our influence," Max said, his gaze intensifying as it flickered between Jake and Jim.

"So what are you proposing?" Jake asked, furrowing his brows, curiosity and skepticism mixed in his expression.

"We take over more towns or gangs. We need more men and more sources of income," Max replied, crossing his arms as he stared around the room, imagining possibilities.

"Nope," Jake said firmly as he stood up.

"Nope?" Max asked with a raised brow, tilting his head slightly.

"Look, dude, we have the strength to take over some small towns, I agree. But how can we now handle the gang controlling the town? We are lucky that your town only had a single puny gang controlling it, which was why it was easy. But in some towns, two to three gangs rule, and most of them are backed by stronger gangs," Jake explained, a light frown crossing his face.

"We do not have the resources to handle more towns, nor the power to fend off any major gangs that might come our way," he added firmly.

"So what? We sit on our hands and do nothing? We need more income, more power, and more support on our side. We also need influence," Max countered, his voice steady but filled with determination.

"No! We don't sit on our hands. We grow stronger. For you, it's actually not a problem to grow stronger, but I need to be strong enough. I also will soon head back to your town, map out which town we hit or take over next," Jake said, standing tall and looking toward the door with a calculated expression.

"Fine then. Since missions haven't been coming in lately, I feel like I need to go out of the association for a while. I have something I want to test, and I want to take Jim along," Max said as he also stood, his eyes glowing faintly with excitement and determination.

"Whatever, do as you like," Jake shrugged, walking toward the door and pushing it open. "Just kindly don't cause any trouble for us," he added before exiting the room, leaving the air tense but focused.

"So… what do you want to test out?" Jim asked, his eyes gleaming eagerly, anticipation written all over his face.

'I feel like the longer I wait, the more time eludes me. It's time to turn Jim into a dragon,' Max thought firmly, his eyes glowing a deeper shade of yellow as his mind raced with plans and possibilities. The room seemed charged with energy, as if it already anticipated the events about to unfold.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.