Athanasia: My Hacker System

Cissel looked back at John, and the look on her face was quite unreadable.

To her, she already showed everything that severed any relation with him, on a personal level. And yet, watching him listen and take Natalie's words and advice with such interest annoyed her.

Still, she provided the answer John was seeking.

"I'd recommend the same Paragon which had the previous number one club in our department," she paused, "I'd suggest the Ares God Paragon."

Once she said it, and the way she introduced the Paragon made everyone turn to Ricky for confirmation. And the latter slowly nodded.

"I know he is quite mysterious, and a very troublesome Paragon," he turned to Cissel, as if he wanted to confirm something, "yet from what I know, no one knows where he is. His faction is widespread across Athanasia, and even his strongest families never stuck to one zone or place."

He stopped here, while the meaning behind his words was clear. Yet Cissel met his doubts with a wide smile on her face. And for a moment there, she looked a bit different, as if she was trying to show off her confidence and character, as if she was slightly acting like Natalie.

"That's precisely why he is the perfect candidate," she turned to John, "this is our guy. As no one knows where he is, it's perfect to use him as our cover. After all, no one knows where the man lives, or his current whereabouts, so using his name will be far more acceptable than using others whose locations and factions are established in other places."

She then pointed towards the nearby Machine Factory.

"On top of that, he is well known for his obsession with war weapons. Some even call him the War Genius, the War God. So if we tied the two together, it would work."

Everyone fell into silence, waiting to hear John's final opinion. The latter knew Cissel gave very solid reasons for choosing the Ares God Paragon. And yet, something still bothered him.

'She is acting way differently than usual.'

He narrowed his eyes and was tempted to scan her body again to make sure she wasn't infected by anything. Yet when his eyes fell upon Natalie, something clicked into his mind.

"Let's do it your way then," John nodded to Cissel, before turning to Natalie, "we'll pick that Paragon. What else do you want us to do?"

Seeing him just give her a nod, then turn to fully focus on Natalie, made Cissel quite disturbed. Before the crack that happened between the two, she used to be his trustworthy source of discussion. But now, he sought refuge with someone else.

Even if she was to be blamed for that, something still bothered her. For a reason, she didn't want to see him with any other girl, even if she didn't want him to be with her.

"That's a good start," if Cissel was acting weird in the eyes of others, to Natalie, she simply read her from first glance. She knew she was jealous, and she was trying to compete, even if her pride prevented her from being bolder.

But she wasn't here to act as a bridge between two old lovers. She wanted John for herself. And that was why she decided to give Cissel a free lesson on how powerful a girl could be if she wanted to get a guy.

The moment she said these words, she came closer, even leaned over John as if she wanted to lay her head on his chest. The sudden movement startled John, but she didn't show any embarrassment at all.

"See… We now need banners and uniforms, anything that can show his signature and tell anyone watching that you belong to his faction."

She looked at John's eyes for purposeful moments, and the latter knew he had to adapt to her weird way of talking and doing things. So he simply met her eyes with calmness and tranquillity, as if he wasn't shaken from within by her allure.

"Who can do it?"

John shifted his eyes away, turned to Luke and Ricky, noticing how envious they looked. John gave them a warning glance, not for looking at him like that, but he was worried Luke would end up facing the same disastrous end with Elena.

Luckily, Elena was busy looking at Cissel, as she felt a slight crack in her armour. She was considering whether it was wise to push through that tiny crack or let it expand first before hammering hard on it.

Yet she knew one thing for sure: her friend would eventually regret everything she did with John. At some point, she would blame herself for acting this coldly and being this rude with him.

"I can help," Ricky raised a hand, thinking, wrongly, that this would put him to work closely with Natalie. Seeing Ricky raise his hand fast, Mond also raised his, then Ben, and Luke received a glare from Elena that stopped him from raising his.

"I'll also join and help," Elena calmly said. Even if Natalie's presence helped to close the distance between Cissel and John, she was still quite dangerous. It was like inviting a predator inside your house to chase away a thief. And she wanted to know that girl quite closely.

"It's settled then," yet unlike what everyone expected, Natalie jumped cheerfully, even took a single round of rotation, while clapping her hands. She acted bizarrely, looked eccentric, yet she dropped a bombshell right over their heads.

"Go and work with each other, then, prepare all the necessary items that can help. I'll stay behind with John to discuss our next step…"

She then glanced at Cissel, as if she was telling her: This is how things are done with guys, idiot!

Before Cissel could react, Natalie instantly hung her arm around John's, even clung to him as if the two were very close. John was surprised by how daring she was, yet she didn't give him a chance.

She literally dragged him away, leaving everyone behind, puzzled and asking themselves one question: What the heck just happened right now?