Somewhere within the human settlement, a meeting was taking place in a room dominated by a large, golden, circular table that stretched across the floor.

At the center of the table was a rotating globe, displaying every region of the planet.

The table had only four massive, ornate seats, but at the moment, only two were occupied.

Samxon sat in one, his hands crossed over his chest, his brows knitted tightly, and his eyes closed. He looked like a statue carved out of pure annoyance.

Sitting across from him was Hale, maintaining her usual stoic, unreadable demeanor.

The room was silent. The two remained perfectly still, waiting for the remaining members to arrive... until Hale decided to break the tension.

"Why are you always angry? At this point, I'm certain I've never seen a genuine smile on your face, not even once."

"At least I have an expression on my face," Samxon replied, without bothering to open his eyes. "Some people just happen to always have a straight face."

Hale let out a dry, dismissive scoff. "Starting a conversation with you is always pointless," she muttered low enough for him to hear.

The awkward silence returned, but only lasted a few minutes before Samxon broke it with a sudden burst of frustration.

"Why are we even waiting for those two? Have they ever showed up for any meeting? Langdon always sends a stupid bot to replace him, and the other one doesn't even appear at all!" He slammed his fist onto the table, making the massive piece of furniture tremble slightly.

Hale, however, sat utterly unfazed by his outburst.

"..."

"That's rude, considering I'm perhaps the busiest of us three."

Before Hale could formulate a reply, the large double doors behind her were gently pushed open. A short, slender young man with blonde hair covering his forehead walked in. He moved with a calm, practiced composure, immediately drawing the focused attention of both individuals.

"What's a kid doing here?" Samxon asked with furrowed brows, turning to Hale. Seeing that she looked just as confused as he was, they both waited for the young man to offer an explanation.

"This was the exact reason I tried to avoid coming here," the boy let out a tired sigh, rubbing his forehead as if battling a headache.

Just then, the doors swung open again, and this time, a figure they both instantly recognized walked into the room.

The tall man looked perfectly human, but the mechanical left eye and the subtle wiring sticking out from his hand gave him away instantly. It was a humanoid bot! The familiar representative of the leader of Norclin City, Sir Langdon.

Seeing the robotic figure stand so close to the young boy, without any reaction or greeting between them, Samxon and Hale locked eyes in an expression of slight understanding mixed with genuine bewilderment.

Hale spoke first, raising a single brow.

"Langdon?"

"Of course, I'm Langdon. It's great to officially meet you both, Sir Samxon and Lady Hale," the boy—Langdon—said with a bright, easy smile. "You've both been very supportive since we got stuck in this mess."

But Langdon's kind words were met by a cold, mocking laugh. "I don't know if I should be disappointed or happy. For someone who knows how to throw orders around, you look rather weak," Samxon said icily, a slow, malicious aura beginning to leak from his body.

Langdon returned a calm smile, completely unperturbed by the threatening air.

"Looks can be quite deceiving at times, but the System still doesn't lie. You can check for yourself—just a friendly reminder if you've forgotten. We don't want to get impulsive."

His reply was simple, but both Hale and Samxon instantly understood the meaning behind his warning—no, they didn't just understand, they saw it.

{Player: Langdon}

{Mutant Level: 4}

It's just as the rumors said, he is a Level Four Mutant indeed!' Hale thought, her earlier, dismissive impression of him dissolving rapidly.

Samxon didn't utter another word, but the sudden seriousness on his face spoke volumes. While they didn't know the extent of Langdon's strength, they weren't foolish enough to test it.

In this transformed world, holding a higher Mutant Level automatically made one a force to be reckoned with. Not only did one rank up much faster than others, but one could also use powerful abilities for significantly longer periods, often with almost no backlash.

They knew that despite his appearance, there was no way Langdon had climbed to this rank by being a weakling. His personal strength was likely on par with, or perhaps even surpassed, their own. In fact, his power was already evident, considering the sheer number of autonomous Bots he had under his control across Norclin City.

"Now then, can we get back to why we're actually here?" Langdon said calmly. He walked over to one of the chairs and sat down comfortably, fixing his sharp gaze on the two before him.

He quickly noticed the empty seat and let out a light sigh. "The Guild Master didn't come again?"

Langdon threw a glance at Hale, who nodded gently.

"He still hasn't accepted our request. This is going to make things difficult for us, as it means we won't have much centralized control over the Guilds in our respective cities... And we still have those old men complaining that we won't govern the system well enough."

"Do you mean The Bureau?" Hale chipped in, clarifying the term.

"Yes, The Bureau. The new organization formed by the previous rulers and politicians... They want to seize leadership again and rule. They're trying to win the support of the people to join their cause."

A low chuckle came from Samxon's chair.

"Imbeciles. Power-hungry rats. The world has changed—we can't use the old system anymore. What the people here need in this current world is strength. If they don't have that, they should fuck off!" Samxon scoffed.

"Be careful what you say. Your words might come back to haunt you," Langdon warned, his calm voice taking on a serious edge. "But you're not wrong, but these people aren't just normal people. The likes of Ronald Domp and Pludmir—these are skilled politicians, polished and experienced with how human society works. If we let them, they can absolutely convince the populace against our rule. If we lose the support of the people, I'm afraid keeping our positions will become difficult. We can't be fighting both internally and externally. We have to deal with them with caution."

"He's not wrong, Samxon," Hale added, her expression serious. "This isn't something we should take lightly. And you should also remember that more and more people are still just awakening their mutation. With time, who knows how many more Level Three and Four Mutants we'll be having?"

Samxon didn't offer a comeback, simply keeping his mouth shut.

Langdon chuckled slightly at his forced silence.

"You're rather impulsive...."

"Shut the fuck up, smart ass!"

"I'll take that as a compliment," Langdon replied easily. "Now, that is not the main reason I came personally. I decided to visit after the event from yesterday.

Apparently, we aren't facing the threat from the second scenario anymore. So now, we should be thinking of the way forward. I have a few things in mind, but first, can you tell me what exactly happened when you went to deal with the boss?"

Langdon glanced at Samxon, hoping the latter would answer, but Samxon deliberately turned his gaze away, a clear sign that he had no interest in recounting the topic.

Langdon then shifted his attention to Hale, who let out a weary sigh.

"Don't tell me you're still angry that you didn't get to kill the boss?" she challenged, turning her gaze pointedly toward Samxon.

"You don't know when to shut your mouth, do you?" Samxon shot her a sharp glare.

"Oh, well..." Hale ignored him and began to explain everything that had transpired within the cavern. She recounted the events in detail, omitting nothing.

Hearing the full story, Langdon slowly nodded his head.

"Well, that is quite a surprise. You were both knocked out, and even without your support, he managed to take down the boss himself."

'He didn't just reject my request, he showed us that the Orcs didn't need our help at all,' Langdon analyzed, a small, knowing smile cutting across his face.

'The Orcs held back against the horde, and he, on the other hand, went straight for the boss. He's sending a clear message: 'If we're doing business, we're doing it on equal grounds, and you won't exploit us.' What a fun guy. Nexus, the best beta player.'

He shifted his attention back to the two leaders in front of him.

"The next scenario is a conditional one... and I believe it can be avoided," Langdon stated, his voice calm but firm. "The next scenario will be managed by the Titan of Discord. This Titan gets stronger specifically by causing conflict, so we have to avoid any escalating issues between us and any other race. The more chaos we generate, the stronger the Titan becomes."

He leaned forward, lowering his voice slightly.

"This will be an easy scenario if we can find the Titan before this mess starts, and kill whoever it is, before they start causing havoc. To do that, we must first start partnering with the closest major race around us: the Orcs... and we absolutely cannot afford to offend their leader, Nexus."

While the System had yet to announce it officially... the stage had been perfectly set for the third scenario to begin.

And right now, these leaders knew they had to do everything in their power to stop the conflict before it escalated beyond control.

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