Claw's Seventh Branch.
Unnoticed, Suzuki Shou slipped his hands into his pockets and entered the meeting room.
As a cadre of the Seventh Branch, Koyama and others were discussing future plans.
After listening briefly, Suzuki sighed, shaking his head.
"Not one worth keeping."
He'd come to the Seventh Branch under the guise of training, but his real goal was finding like-minded allies to defeat his delusional father.
But after observing, he found the branch's members were just like headquarters'.
Mediocre strength, flawed mindsets.
Recruiting them would only bring trouble.
"Maybe I should lower my standards?"
Suzuki hesitated.
He'd long searched for strong, compatible, or high-potential partners.
He'd met a few promising candidates, but they either refused to meddle in his family affairs or found it too bothersome.
To this day, Suzuki still hadn't found anyone to help him face his father.
Boom!
An explosion rang out.
Suzuki snapped back, seeing the meeting room's ceiling blasted open.
Three figures—one large, two small—dropped through the hole.
"Who's that?!"
Koyama, a burly man, stepped forward, psychic energy surging.
"Mr. Roy, that's the guy who kidnapped Mob's brother this afternoon!" Teruki Hanazawa reported to his teammate.
"Got it."
Roy nodded, raising his palm.
A magic circle flared, unleashing a storm of lightning in all directions.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
[Congratulations on defeating Koyama. Obtained Green entry 'Psychic Spiral.']
[Congratulations on defeating Sakurai. Obtained Green entry 'Cursed Tool.']
[Congratulations on defeating Ishiguro. Obtained Blue entry 'Gravity Control.']
…
Amid deafening roars, a string of notifications chimed.
Roy netted eight Green entries and two Blue ones in one go.
But then, he noticed someone blocked his attack.
"Not all small fry, huh."
Roy's gaze locked on Suzuki Shou, emerging from invisibility, surrounded by massive psychic energy.
Roy flashed in front of him.
"Wait, I—"
Suzuki, reacting late, tried to explain.
But Roy's fist landed first.
Boom!
Suzuki flew back, crashing into the wall and passing out.
[Congratulations on defeating Suzuki Shou. Obtained Purple entry 'Energy Storage.']
[Energy Storage (Purple): Store any energy type in your body. Stronger physique allows greater storage.]
Nice, a bonus.
Roy glanced at the new Purple entry, then turned to the door.
"Intruders!"
"The explosion came from the meeting room! Let's go!"
"The meeting room? That's where the cadres are. What can we do?"
"Idiot! Use your brain. This is our chance to shine!"
"Makes sense!"
A chaotic clamor erupted.
Under Roy's watch, a swarm of jumpsuit-clad grunts rushed in.
Like Koyama's group, they were Claw members.
But lacking esper powers, they were the lowest-tier lackeys.
As they approached, Roy released a fraction of his suppressed aura.
A near-tangible pressure radiated outward.
Unable to withstand it, the barely trained grunts collapsed like dominoes, unconscious.
[Congratulations on defeating John Doe. Obtained White entry 'Lawless Maniac.']
[Congratulations on defeating Akira Akasaka. Obtained White entry 'I'm Tough.']
[Congratulations on defeating Gege Akutami. Obtained White entry 'Comedic Artist.']
…
Another wave of notifications hit, and Roy's lips curled.
Maybe due to Claw's vetting, these grunts were high-quality, nearly half dropping White entries.
One AOE sweep netted over 200 White entries—equivalent to two Blues.
With the cadre entries, this commission was worth it.
"So strong."
Teruki, watching it all, gasped, stunned.
He knew Roy was powerful.
But compared to last time, Roy's performance was unreal.
It'd only been a month—how'd he get this much stronger?
"As expected of Mr. Roy, taking out the enemy in one go," Mob said, eyes sparkling with admiration.
"If you set your mind to it, you could do this too," Roy replied, approaching.
By devil standards, Koyama's group was mid-tier devil level.
Strong for humans, maybe.
But against Mob, they weren't even in the same league.
With a tenth of his power, Mob could crush them.
Still…
Seeing Mob wave off the idea, insisting he couldn't, Roy dropped it.
To each their own.
If Mob wanted a normal life, Roy respected that.
"Your brother and the other captives are in the basement prison. Go free them."
"You're not coming, Mr. Roy?"
"Not interested in your brotherly reunion. I'd rather get back for a date and movie with my girlfriend."
"Got it."
Mob bowed. "Thank you so much, Mr. Roy."
Roy waved it off. "No need. If you wanna thank me, find me some tough enemies."
"Tough enemies… Okay."
Mob nodded, half-understanding, committing it to memory.
He waved goodbye, heading to the basement with Teruki.
Roy watched them go, then turned to Suzuki Shou, unconscious on the floor.
Time to recruit a new client.
---
If you want to read more than 20 chapters early feel free to visit pa tre on . com /Archus