"Wait, what?!" Jim and Max shouted in unison as they stared at Jake, their mouths slightly agape at his sudden reveal.

"Make me the leader? What happened to you? Aren't you the one who wants to create a gang? Why drag me into this mess?" Max asked with a huge frown on his face as he shot out of his bed, while Jake slowly rose from his seat, his expression firm.

"I have a good reason for making this decision." Jake replied calmly, and Max crossed his arms tightly across his chest, his eyes narrowing.

"Let me hear it then." He demanded.

"After I found out you were a dragon, I went to research about them more, and I realised that they had one thing in common with hybrids." Jake said, causing Max to raise an eyebrow.

"Huh? What do you mean?" He asked suspiciously.

"I mean that as soon as dragons are born—well, I don't mean the infants but the older ones, they don't level up." Jake explained.

"Level up? What do you mean by that? I don't understand." Max asked again, his voice carrying both frustration and confusion.

'Please don't tell me he knows about the system too.' Max thought nervously.

"I mean, once they are born, the power given to them is what they cultivate as they grow older. Now, once they reach a certain age, their powers hit a wall and they can't grow past it, leaving them stagnated. Doesn't mean they aren't terrifyingly strong though." Jake chuckled lightly at the last part, though his words carried weight.

'Pix, how true is this?' Max asked inwardly.

"Quite true. I'm amazed at how much he researched before bringing this up. Though this doesn't apply to some dragons. For example, the first-generation dragon or a ruler." Pix replied, and Max nodded along quietly.

"And why I said dragons are similar to hybrids is that," Jake continued, snapping Max out of his thoughts, "the serum given to us and the power we get from it is what we cultivate until we hit that same wall. We don't evolve, nor do we grow stronger after it. Right now, I can feel that I'm slowly getting closer to mine, and when I hit it, there will be threats I simply won't be able to face."

"So?" Max asked again with a raised eyebrow, his tone sharp.

"But you… you're different. It's like you have another power within you, something different from your Draconic ability, something that allows you to grow stronger every single day." Jake added, his voice low and almost reverent.

"I don't understand." Jim muttered as he looked towards Max, scanning him from top to toe as if searching for some hidden secret.

"I mean that it seems he grows stronger every day. Like he has something inside him that pushes him forward, making him stronger and faster with each opponent he faces." Jake clarified, causing Jim to turn towards the dragon with wide eyes, almost asking silently for confirmation.

"Which is why I want you to join me in creating this gang—with you as the leader. Do you understand now why I say so? If we are to have a leader, we need one who grows, one who evolves every single time, someone so unpredictable that our foes will never be able to gauge his strength.

Because the moment they think they've measured him, he surpasses their expectations, stunning them and making us appear powerful, unstoppable even." Jake's words rang with conviction, and the silence that followed was heavy.

"I see reason in his words." Pix chimed in inside Max's mind, her tone thoughtful.

"But creating and leading a gang… that's too much work. Even for me." Max sighed as he rubbed his temples, the weight of everything settling on him like a boulder.

"Who said anything about you managing the gang?" Jake chuckled aloud as he plopped back into his seat, grinning wide. "Oh brother! You will just be the brawn. Leave the brains to me.

And if we happen to find someone else who's smart enough, as smart as me—because it wasn't easy putting two and two together to figure out who you really are, then we can run this thing together. You'll only need to show up as our leader and beat the hell out of our foes when the time comes."

"But wouldn't it be wiser for you to be the brawn? I mean, aren't you and Max of equal strength? If not even stronger than him?" Jim asked, his brows furrowing in genuine confusion, his tone both skeptical and concerned.

"And like I said earlier, I feel like I'm nearing my limit. With Max, who grows stronger every passing day, he will surpass me sooner or later. From there, do you really think I'll still be fit to be the leader?" Jake asked with a raised eyebrow, his tone sharp but honest.

"You… have a point there." Jim admitted as he rubbed his forehead in deep thought, his brows furrowed as if trying to process everything. "Welp! At the end of the day, everything all depends on Max's response."

'Pix, what do I do?' Max asked inwardly as he rubbed his temples, trying to weigh his pros and cons.

"You're your own person, figure out what to do." Pix said flatly. "But if I was to advise you, I would say you should accept. With this, if you all manage to grow stronger and gather stronger members, you can build something from it. Slowly, your name would spread far and wide. You would also have influence on your side, not just brute force."

'Hmm. And with the fact that I might get attacked by the Black Veil gang, I would need people on my side too. Because no doubt, the Black Veil gang will have immense numbers backing them.

If I stand alone, sooner or later I'll get swallowed.' Max thought as he stroked his chin, his golden eyes flickering faintly while Jake and Jim sat in silence, patiently waiting for his reply. The room felt heavier by the second, as if the decision itself carried weight.

Sigh!

"Fine, I accept." Max finally said, and Jake shot out of his seat with a beaming smile on his face, almost unable to contain his excitement.

"That's great. Now we just have to recruit more members." Jake said enthusiastically, his voice filled with confidence.

"How about we start slow and steady? I don't know what gave you the confidence that I'd accept, making you approach me in the first place, but I don't think others would agree so easily.

Let's be calm and deliberate, and only bring in those who will truly stay loyal. And actually… I already have one person in mind." Max said as a smile crept across his face, his gaze shifting deliberately.

"And who is that?" Jake asked with a raised eyebrow, clearly curious.

"Jim." Max called out as he spun around to face the E-ranked hunter. "What do you say about joining our gang? We need people we can trust, and you are surely someone I can trust… I think. So, what will it be?"

"Of course it's a yes! No hesitation at all. I'm grateful you even considered me worthy of joining your group. Thank you!" Jim said eagerly as he bowed down slightly towards Max, his tone full of sincerity.

"Okay, that is a little awkward. Stand up already." Max muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously while watching Jim straighten up, a faint smile tugging at his lips despite himself.

"So then, what do we call our gang, huh? Leader." Jake asked with a teasing smile, his words carrying both humor and anticipation as the air in the room shifted from tense to strangely hopeful.

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