Ascenders Rift

Chapter 159: Manager Paulson, The Angel's Abode

Evan frowned as he saw this man, from a single glance, he didn't like something about him, as Layla and Emilia's faces turned a bit dark but said nothing. 

Leo and the others didn't notice this, he looked at the man and spoke, "Oh, so it's Head Manager Paulson, I didn't think someone of your stature would be out on the roof, what's the occasion?"

Julie and Razel were also a bit surprised, as the person before them was far too prominent of a figure to just appear in this kind of setting.

Paulson merely smiled as he gave a reply, "Mister Morison might be overthinking, it's nothing, I've simply heard that you were on your way here with a few special guests, and with the company of two front-liners such as Julie and Razel. It is only natural that I come to greet you personally..."

When Leo and Julie heard this, they were no longer surprised, but Razel was different; his eyes flashed as he recalled only a select few knew of their details. 

Leo took this chance to properly greet, "I see, well, we are grateful to receive the Head Manager's care."

Paulson chuckled as he replied while gesturing towards everyone, "It is my honor, now then, dear guests let us be off, I shall guide you to a special place."

After saying this, Paulson snapped his fingers, causing the men around them to bow as a mechanical sound was heard. Soon, the platform elevator had begun to descend from the surface with Evan and the others.

As they vanished, the crowd of individuals who saw the previous scene, couldn't help but show looks of shocks on their faces as a commotion formed on the rooftop.

"Who were they? They actually had the Head Manager here to greet them?" One person said.

"I-I think that the young man at the head was that famous Morison, you know the one deployed to the front lines," Another person replied.

"Huh? Do you mean that famous fellow? Wow, who were the rest?" Someone said in surprise.

"I've been to the frontlines a few times, that girl by his side was none on than Julie from the Wester Family, while that other fellow was Razel from the Brigg's Family. They are both top tier Evolvers and have returned many merits in service, as for that other group, I have no idea who they were, they could likely be some new rookies from their training groups," Someone said.

"So they were all big-timers, no wonder such a thing could occur," Someone said in a more understanding tone.

While the commotion on the roof was slowly boiling over, the scene within Angel's Abode was akin to heaven itself. At the foremost sector, was a place filled with exquisite decorations, the counters were large with various liquor placed on top of them that a few persons were idly drinking as they conversed.

Looking around, one would even see sofas with men and women seated as they flirted and laughed while enjoying a lavish lifestyle.

In some distant sections, one would see a slightly transparent glass covered in smog as if the inside of it was some hot bath. A few beautiful girls danced within the vicinity of that area, filled with flashing lights and good music, as some even showed great flexibility by maneuvering on long poles.

At this time, a door at the farthest corner opened after a soft sound, and Paulson had appeared along with Leo, Evan, and the others shortly afterward.

Paulson smiled as he moved his hand forward while speaking, "My dear guests, welcome to Heaven's Parlor. It is the best lounge that has the absolute best of facilities and entertainment. If there are any special services you require, you may speak to a bartender or waitress, and they will fulfill your need, please do take care of your stay here at our Angel's Abode."

After saying this, Paulson then made a turn and headed back to the elevator, his face filled with a smile as he stood behind the closing door as it finally closed and sent him towards a different area.

As Paulson vanished, Layla inched closer to Evan and spoke, "Evan that man... he..."

Evan grabbed her hand and smiled as he replied in a whisper, "I know, I could feel it, but now isn't the time to do anything. Let us wait and see, right now, our focus is on getting temporary lodging so we can level up faster."

Layla, hearing this, then nodded as she replied in a whisper, "Alright then."

Rick and Breya also turned to look at Evan, who nodded with a sharp look in his eyes before they pretended that the scene with Paulson never happened.

While this was occurring, however, only the keen Razel had taken a slight notice to their change.

Joe and Leo were chatting; happily, while Julie's attention seemed to have been attracted elsewhere, and an ugly look was on her face as if she saw something bad not too far away.

"Oh, so many beauties, there are so many here that it would hard to view ordinary women the same again," Joe said with flashing eyes.

"Haha, Joe, I knew I was right about you, come let us feast, we'll get the best service at the best table!" Leo said as he then spoke to a waitress.

The waitress smiled charmingly before she carried everyone towards a large table; around it, were a few black sofas.

After sitting down, Leo gave the waitress a knowing look before she then went off to perform a task as everyone began to converse. However, Breya, during this time, watched Joe like a hawk in silence, her eyes showing an odd look as if plotting something.

Joe was previously feeling a chill every now and then, but he couldn't help but notice Breya's strange look from the corner of his eyes. He was shocked as he thought to himself, 'What the hell? Is she out to kill me or something?'

While Joe thought to here, the waitress had returned, but it wasn't only her, she brought a few friends. These beautiful women sat themselves down by Leo's and Joe's side, as a few others looked around at Evan and Rick.

As they saw the duo, their eyes couldn't help but brighten as they promptly headed over. However, right at that moment, Layla inched closer to Evan and gripped his arm firmly as if she was using plyers.

Rick, on the other hand, became flustered; he saw Emilia looking at him with an innocent smile, which made him feel hesitant a bit as he thought, 'Emilia has been acting strange as of late, I shouldn't do anything to spark odd reactions...'

Having made up his mind, Rick coldly looked at the woman coming his way, causing her to falter due to fear. She no longer showed him any interest but sat down beside the similar cold but friendlier Razel, who had a strange smile on his face.

'Huhu, these fellows sure are interesting,' Razel thought with a smile on his face. 

As a seasoned individual in life experience, he had already noticed the subtle actions of the party and was now taking in the invisible drama between Joe and Breya.

Joe gulped as the moment the beauty sat by him; she spoke in a sweet voice, "Mister, you look a bit sad, do you want to feel better?"

The moment Joe heard this, he felt a terrifying icy intent from Breya, which brought him to his senses as he finally understood her previous manner. However, as he was already on the tiger, he couldn't just casually dismount it, he decided to let things flow without getting out of hand.

Evan chuckled in silence as he saw this, while Layla glared at him, but as for the host of their gathering, Leo remained oblivious to the drama around him as he hugged the girls at his side and spoke.

"Haha, isn't this good, it's far too perfect, come everyone let us converse, our drinks will be here shortly!" When Leo said this, he had once more sent off the waitress to get some fine liquor. He then looked at Evan and spoke, "Tell me, how is it that you entered these lands? Don't tell me your people had a similar event like ours?" 

Evan, hearing this replied, "It's nothing of the sort; you could say that the area we resided had suddenly changed. Rifts started popping up out of nowhere, and one just happened to send us here, that's how we started to fight against those enemies, and how we ended up here."

"Oh, a rift, I see-I see, it must have been such a terrifying thing," Leo said in reply, his eyes flashed as he gave Evan praise for keeping core information unnecessary for the women's ears out of their dialogue.

"I couldn't help but notice that your strength is a bit different from the norm, is it also through that experience we had," Leo asked, implying that he could already sense that their evolution was different from Evan's parties.

Evan smiled as he thought, 'It seems he must have used something akin to an inspection skill on us earlier. Haha, I wonder what kind of details he saw?'

As Evan finished his thoughts, he answered, "You could say it's something like that,"

Leo's eyes narrowed as he thought, 'Hmm, so it's different, well I guess I can try to figure out another way to learn more of their abilities.'

"Great, then why don't we have a fun spar at the Training Center after the scheduled meeting?"

Evan nodded his head at this and spoke with a smile, "No problem, that would be helpful to us in more than one way."

Leo smiled, not saying anything more, as Evan also smiled and remained in silence. The girls from Heaven's Parlor who had listened to them made puzzled looks but didn't pay too much attention to it.

Soon, the waitress who guided them had returned with their drinks; everyone looked at her with anticipation; she skillfully placed the drinks down before bowing and leaving. Following this, everyone began to chat about random and casual topics while drinking.

At this time, the girl at Joe's side had a slightly flushed appearance as she placed her lip near his ears and whispered, "Mister, I'm not feeling so good, can you...?"

Joe's heart was racing when heard her suggestive tone, but right at this very instance, a cracking sound of glass was heard, as when Joe and everyone looked at the direction their eyes went wide.