"You should stock up. You know?" Walking in with two huge bags filled with various cooking ingredients such as spices, vegetables, and meat, Hayden spoke. "Freezers and ingredients nowadays are not as it used to be. All these ingredients can be stored for over a year without spoiling."

"You…" When Eun-ha saw Hayden, she was stunned. "Why did you buy so much? I rarely go to this house…"

"Well," while storing and sorting the ingredients, Hayden turned to Eun-ha, moved in, hugged her, kissed her, and said softly. "You know, I'm a pretty great cook. We can have some of our dates here. Your balcony has a pretty great view."

"Tsk, brazen fellow." Eun-ha kissed him back, resting her head on Hayden's chest. "When will you be going back to Philippines?"

Letting Eun-ha go, Hayden went back to arranging the ingredients. "I've reserved a flight at December 28, 2020. We'll be spending our new year's at home, it's kind of a tradition, spending new year's with only the immediate family members. I would have been willing to convince my parents to break that tradition if I would have known that, you know, I'll find a girlfriend here."

"Well, don't worry," Eun-ha leaned on the kitchen counter. "We'll see at the concert and fan meet in Philippines."

"Of course we will," Hayden smiled at Eun-ha. Finis.h.i.+ng tidying up, Hayden started to cook up bacon omelet, fried rice, and made his signature hot chocolate-coffee mix. By 5:15, Hayden has finished up everything, working with utmost efficiency.

On the side, Eun-ha was in a state of obliviousness and shock at Hayden's cooking skill, every meal that he made a.s.saulting her nose with its amazing scent, making her drool a bit with desire, her stomach grumble. She couldn't help but think that the concentrating face of Hayden was unbelievably attractive, it was a side that was different from the coy teenager she met.

"Shall we eat, mademoiselle?" Arranging the table on the dining room, Hayden smiled at Eun-ha knowingly. "It's a simple yet tasty meal made by yours truly."

"Braggart!" Eun-ha laughed, striding to the table. Taking a sniff of the scent of the food, she was astonished. "This smells so good!"

"Well, I've got a lot of practice the past six months," Hayden removed the ap.r.o.n he used, arranged it on the kitchen, and sat down opposite to Eun-ha. "With my Ability, I could basically learn any human skill inhumanly fast."

"This is so amazing." What followed was Eun-ha wolfing down the food. When she saw Hayden smiling at him mischievously, she s.h.i.+ed away a little, composing herself. She then rolled her eyes at Hayden, making him crack up.

"Oh yeah, are you perhaps going to play in… What do you call that?" Eun-ha asked as she ate. "Ahh, yes, Pro a.s.sembly?"

"Well, I'm planning to." Hayden shook his head. "I got to thank the person that made me famous after all, Ares. By March, I should reach my goal of Rank 1 Apex Rank general, by then, despite my age, the Pulang Dagat, or Red Sea in Korean, or Sea of Blood if you take the figurative translation, would not be able to avoid me no matter what."

On that note, the two incessantly chatted regarding their careers, digging in deeper each other's lives. When the both of them finished eating, Eun-ha invited Hayden to the couch, cuddling with each other as they watched TV.

…..

6:00, Philippines, Makati City, Daniel's house. Daniel has been simply playing games the past few hours as there was really nothing else to do to pa.s.s the time. He could not sleep as he was already invigorated, such is the effects of being a wielder, and he could not go out to test his newly evolved Ability.

A few minutes pa.s.sed, Daniel's mom's voice sounded out, calling for him to eat breakfast. As Daniel has developed to sensing an impending doom to when they were going to eat or something, he wasn't playing an online game anymore, allowing him to simply pause the game prior to going downstairs to eat.

When they finished eating, Daniel took a shower, informed his parents that he was going out to 'tutor,' and hailed a taxi.

Arriving at Liwayway Hotel, he went to the apartment complex opposite to it and went down the secret facility of Puting Araw. First, he made his way to Anthony's penthouse to report his evolved status as a Level 2 wielder.

Anthony, who was in his office, having a headache over Hayden's report of an a.s.sa.s.sination attempt at him from South Korea, and the closed case of Tikbalang, was delighted of Daniel's arrival.

He already expected Daniel's evolution as he knew that Daniel awakened only a bit later than Hayden. "Let me give you a present."

Anthony was quite biased towards Daniel, prioritizing him over Hayden, leading to the two of them having a more amicable relations.h.i.+p than Anthony and Hayden. He liked Daniel for two reasons, his potential that is a cut above the rest, even in comparison to Hayden's Divine Perception; after all, knowledge can only get you so far, raw power such as Daniel's Ability is something more favorable to the requirements of Puting Araw's Red Agents. Anthony was a man who valued raw power more than knowledge.

Second, Daniel was less arrogant and more harmonious with people than Hayden. Daniel was an absolute extrovert that everyone liked, he was friends with the ten geniuses that Hayden beat up, is easy to get along to, and, the most important one, he respects those that are higher than him, unlike Hayden. Of course, it doesn't mean that Hayden didn't follow the rules, it's just that his show of blatant disregard and disrespect to Anthony was something that he was infuriated with.

If Hayden was not someone who could defeat a Level 2 wielder as a Level 1 and tens of geniuses within 10 seconds, Anthony would have thrown him out of Puting Araw already. Do not get Anthony wrong though, he deemed Hayden as an important a.s.set, albeit, Daniel was more important in his perspective.

If he just knew that Hayden was a dual wielder, he would think otherwise as dual wielders are incredibly rare. In addition, he knew of the power of a dual wielder, being able to defeat wielders possessing higher levels than them with the usage of their two Abilities. The most powerful person of Puting Araw, its founder and the person that holds the first seat in the Walong Sinag ng Araw, also known as the Unang Sinag ng Araw (First Ray of the Sun), is a Level 4 dual wielder that possesses the power of a Level 5.

This was also the reason that, in spite of the scope of Puting Araw being lower than Black Devil's Kamay ng Lagim, Black Devil doesn't dare to invade Puting Araw due to being scared of the Unang Sinag ng Araw.

…..

"As you know, I can't promote you to First Rank Special Agent position like Hayden as you haven't taken a mission yet," Anthony walked with Daniel on the underground facility wearing a wide smile. "However, what I can do to congratulate you is present you with this."

Pointing to a black ring, Anthony smiled. Daniel had a confused expression as he stared at Anthony. Laughing, Anthony explained, "I take it that you don't know what this?"

"Well…" Daniel looked at the ring before looking back to Anthony. "What is it? It's merely a ring, right?"

"That's where you're wrong," Anthony said. "Hey, manager, can you explain to him what this ring is and what it does?"

The manager, who went out the second he saw Anthony, nodded prior to explaining to Daniel what the ring is. Hearing what the power of the ring is, Daniel was shocked. What a convenient item for storing items!

"Wait, you're telling me you'll give me this as a present?" Daniel exclaimed. "I can't accept that, it's priced at 10 million credits!"

"Just take it as an investment," Anthony didn't give him a chance to rebut as he threw a s.p.a.ce Ring to Daniel. "You go accept missions now, don't let my investment to you go to waste, understand?"

Daniel could do nothing but to accept this gift and nod, wearing a wry smile. Wearing it, Daniel infused essence energy into the ring and felt a 10 cubic meter s.p.a.ce inside. "I guess I should buy a mask similar to Hayden's in case I need it… No, wait, I have my amber-colored iris to cover for that… Well, what if I needed to use other powers…"

Regardless of being a bit jealous of Hayden, Daniel couldn't help himself to think that Hayden was indeed smart. If he wasn't wrong, he saw Hayden wearing a s.p.a.ce Ring during the time he was at the school festival, and based from the hearsays, Hayden wore a plain black mask to mask himself in the fight.

"It's only probably that fellow that can afford to treat tank-piercing bullets as a bullet for fighting…" Daniel sighed, recalling the details from Hayden's fight with Blade Dancer. A peculiar expression appeared on Daniel's face. "How rich exactly is Hayden?"

"He's rich for your age, I'll tell you that," Anthony inserted his opinion, hearing Daniel's muttering. "I mean, he already bought a s.p.a.ce Ring before I gave him one more as a show of collective appreciation of the board of directors. Anyways, you should also take this."

Anthony took out a badge of Puting Araw alike the one he gave Hayden when he was promoted. "This is a badge that you can infuse essence energy into and will alert the nearest Puting Araw agency. If you're in a foreign country, it would alert the main branch if you infuse it with your essence energy. This is a protective badge, so keep it on your person at all times, got that?"

Daniel received the badge with grat.i.tude. "I won't waste your investment. If you may excuse me, I am itching to test my powers."

"That's the spirit!" Anthony chortled, letting Daniel go to the Missions Board. With a curious countenance, Anthony whispered to himself, ��I wonder who'd win between those two…. Eh, Daniel would no doubt win, even if Hayden could predict those movements of Daniel, he can't possibly win a fight against absolute strength…"

Coming into that conclusion, Anthony nodded and went back to his office. "Mhm, I wonder if Hayden is a dual wielder… It would only make sense, but, if he is, he's good at hiding it. Nevertheless, with his att.i.tude, I suspect I'd be able to control him anyways."

Anthony has long suspected of Hayden's dual wielder status, even to the point of sending people to keep tabs on him from time to time. However, he found nothing at all, so he had no choice but to drop it.

…..

In the Missions Board, Daniel went to take a mission for the Ghost Unit, one of the many façades of Puting Araw that helps the police by acting as a closed group of powerful bounty hunters.

In the modern day, as criminals still ran rampant, with the police helpless in the face of the smartest of the criminals, bounty hunting has become one such job that's become commonplace in the world. In truth, the world was not as peaceful as it seemed to be, people dying here and there, lives being ruined by criminals, it was still the same miserable world, except with less corruption and better technology.

Especially in the successful countries, in fact, the successful countries had it worse than poorer ones. criminal activities related to drugs, blackmailing, hara.s.sment, black marketing, mafia, and all that have an increased influence. Thankfully, banks have long been extinct, and with the rise of advanced technology, robbery and heists are basically nigh-impossible to pull off as all properties, cars, land, houses, and all items that are higher than 1000 credits in value are registered into Ident.i.ty Numbers, which makes stolen items unsellable, even in the black market.

As a result, the underworld has become more lively in other fields, drugs, a.s.sa.s.sinations, kidnappings, and as such. That's where the bounty hunters come in, hunting people down, groups taking down full crime organizations, and Ghost Unit comes in when a report of the possibly supernatural reached Puting Araw.

It is rumored that the founder and manager of Ghost Unit destroyed countless underground branches that supposedly forced the criminals back enough so that it led to the creation of the vile Kamay ng Lagim. As for its mysterious founder and manager, it is the current third seat of the Walong Sinag ng Araw, a person whose epithet is the only known to the public, Apolaki, a Filipino G.o.d of the Sun and is the patron of warriors in Tagalog and Pangasinan mythologies.

Daniel wasn't concerned of such matters as he was merely a Level 2 wielder who is desiring to test his Ability and is in dire need of money. The mission he accepted was a low-leveled one that required him to take down a small drug dealer.

"So, 10 boring missions like this?" Daniel whispered in dismay. "Oh boy, this is going to be one long time for me."

Taking the mission to the Ghost Unit division under the base, Daniel accepted the mission. The name of the drug dealer was Jillian, a Level 1 wielder that has the Ability to enhance the performance of weapons by making its attacks fiery, bullets, swords, anything she can use to attack.

"Kind of a useless Ability, isn't it?" Daniel shook his head. "Maybe that's why she resorted to selling drugs…"

"You know, it's not like all people are as lucky as you," a lanky handsome bespectacled man spoke beside him, startling Daniel. "h.e.l.lo, my name is Zeke Dugong-Maharlika, nice to meet you, Daniel Luntiang-Dahon. I've heard much of your power."

"Hey, uh, Zeke," Daniel said h.e.l.lo. Sighing, Daniel said dejectedly, "What do you mean you've heard much of my power? I haven't even done anything remarkable in my time here…"

"Well, you're kind of a celebrity in the main branch along with Hayden," Zeke shrugged. "Don't worry, Hayden's merely lucky, your future prospects are much larger than him. I mean, you're literally a battle machine!"

"So is he," Daniel shook his head. "Hah, lucky? If Hayden was here he would've beaten you up for calling him lucky… That guy's probably the unluckiest fellow I've met."

"What do you mean?" Zeke turned to Daniel, asking with a confused expression. "He was in the right place at the right time to beat up that Blade Dancer, you could have easily done so as well. Furthermore, with Hayden's explanation, Blade Dancer was an idiot. As for when he beat up those ten Level 2 wielders, I'm sure you would've killed them off much faster than Hayden."

Daniel smiled wryly. Was Zeke a hardcore fan of his? What the h.e.l.l was happening? He was kind of annoyed that he was being compared to someone and that someone was his best friend. "No, seriously, you don't even know Hayden. I've got to go investigate this Jillian now, nice meeting you Zeke."

"Wait," Zeke stopped Daniel. "Let's do this together. I'm a Blue Agent as you see, and I know you're a Red Agent currently as you haven't received your training as a Blue Agent to become a White Agent, right? You do know that all Red Agents have a Blue Agent partner, right?"

"Err…" Unbeknownst to Zeke, he struck Daniel's sore spot. It was another field that Hayden was superior than him! Was he ever getting out of this? "No, thank you, I'll do it myself. I'm actually simply doing this mission to finish up my quota to rank up as fast as possible. I'm sure the universe would find a way to connect us if we are indeed connected."

With that, without even establis.h.i.+ng a communication link, Daniel left one astounded Zeke. Scratching his head, Zeke said, "Did I somehow offend him?"

Leaving the building, Daniel was in a sour mood as he was reminded of Hayden's contribution to Puting Araw. He then changed his left iris to an orange one, and his right iris to a gold one. Afterwards, he flew to Tondo, the most criminally active region in Manila, where Jillian was last seen.

…..

7:00, South Korea, Hanam-si, the same time Daniel was out on Puting Araw's secret facility to accept a mission to rank up. Eun-ha let Hayden wash his trousers, which was thankfully merely dirty and not damaged at all from the fight last night. "This thing is strong! The price of 20,000 credits is suitable."

Finis.h.i.+ng that, Eun-ha registered Hayden to the door of the house so that he could access it anytime. Subsequent to that, the two bade goodbye to each other, parting on two different directions, with Eun-ha going to Seongnam-si to her home, while Hayden's destination was the Gw.a.n.gnaru Hangang Park to fetch his car.

A few minutes later, Hayden landed in an inconspicuous place distant from the park as the place was currently cordoned off to the public, probably due to last night's unexplainable disasters.

"Tsk, Haetae really made such a mess…" Hayden found his car from where he parked it last night. Luckily, it didn't get towed. Driving out, Hayden went home.

At 7:34, Hayden arrived at his home, with his mom and dad waiting for him at the living room. The second he opened the door, Hayden's mom charged at him with a burning glare, causing Hayden to s.h.i.+ver involuntarily.

"Why did you go home just this morning? Tell me." Hayden's mom's eyes were as wide as it could be, the deep eyes staring at Hayden with frightening ferocity.

"Come on, mom," Hayden tried to calm his mom down. "I just spent a night talking with my date, nothing happened, I promise. We talked and slept on separate beds! It was only a night of getting to know each other, nothing else, okay?"

A few seconds later, with Hayden's honest-looking face, his mom indignantly and reluctantly let go of Hayden. Grunting, his mom went upstairs to their room.

Taking in a deep breath, Hayden felt the pressure being taken off his shoulders. At that moment, his phone vibrated on his pocket.

Checking it out, it was from Eun-ha. "Are you home? Text me when you get home, okay?"

Hayden chuckled, a warm feeling spreading in his heart. His father, who remained seated on the couch, witnessed this and laughed. This laughter woke Hayden up from his daze.

His father shot him a knowing look as if saying, 'Don't worry, I know what really happened last night, it's a secret between us two men, I know.'

As a response, Hayden shook his head, crossed his arms to an x, and directly denied the events that his father was implying that happened by shaking his head with a serious gaze. Consequently, his father nodded, as if saying, 'Yeah, yeah, I know, don't worry, nothing happened.'

Rolling his eyes, Hayden went straight up to his room without saying anything at all. Let the man thinks what he thinks. In his room, Hayden changed clothes and texted Eun-ha. For the next few hours, Hayden and Eun-ha talked all lovey dovey.