-I want help with the Wheel of Fortune and Madness. Not now. Soon. I’ll pay for your service.-
Levi sent a straightforward request for his needs, understanding that the Dealer was quite a chatty person, and he didn’t want to get sucked into his web.
-Pay? Paaaay? Celestial, do you want to hurt my feelings this early in the morning?- The Dealer replied, adding a sad emoji.
-I see... congratulations on obtaining access to the wheel, I had a feeling the title was going to be related to it... Though my apologies, but I don’t offer such services.- Madam Future responded.
Levi could tell the Dealer would help him, but he also didn’t want to miss out on Madam Future’s assistance... he knew her powers would be quite vital in minimizing his chances of landing on the trap card.
-What do you want in return?- Levi sent to the Dealer.
-Is this your final decision?- Levi responded to Madam Future.
-Not much, just a cup of coffee... Your presence itself is the repayment.- The Dealer sent a chuckling emoji.
Levi’s brows twitched, starting to feel that the Dealer might be swinging in the other direction... or he had no issues with hiding his obsession with Levi’s mysterious identity, finding his existence puzzling... the Dealer was clearly someone who loved solving puzzles.
-Then I’ll accept it as a favor between us... I will contact you later when I decide on the time.- Levi swiftly closed the Dealer’s chat tab and switched his focus to Madam Future’s reply.
-I don’t sell my services, but I don’t mind lending a hand to a friend.-
’I like her already.’ Levi smiled.
Madam Future’s intentions were in full display... she wanted to add Levi to her network, so they could benefit from each other. Meanwhile, the Dealer’s intentions still eluded him as he didn’t want to get too close to someone who sought to figure out his identity.
The last thing he needed was for the Celestial’s persona to be linked to his real persona... not after using both Void and Sunflame Aspects under billions of viewers.
Radians and Oblivars might not care that much as long as he kept his head low, but the same couldn’t be said about their goons... they wouldn’t hesitate to raid his entire planet to get a piece of him and deliver it to their deities to win their favor.
-Then... don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything... I will send you the details later.-
After sending a confirmation to Madam Future, she replied with a thumbs-up emoji and went back offline...
’I have to tread carefully with everyone, not just him.’ Levi thought as he ignored the red notifications from the Dealer’s chat tab and closed the whole dimensional screen.
’For now... It’s best to leave spinning the wheel until I am properly prepared in case of a worst-case scenario.’
Levi understood that even with both Madam Future and The Dealer’s assistance, the result wasn’t guaranteed... they would help him minimize his misfortune, but not erase it.
***
Sometime later...
Inside the Conference’s cafeteria, Levi, Arthur, and the girls were seated around a table that was packed with delicious dishes... the moment Levi informed them of his return to the World Tree, they decided to have dinner together to check on him.
"You really can’t tell us about this classified mission?" Nurah pouted while rolling a fork on a plate of spaghetti made with tomato sauce.
"It won’t be classified if I told you now. Don’t worry... a time will come when I will include you in."
Levi replied with a smile, but his auditory vision was affixed on Jasmine, who had been staring at him with a strange look the moment he sat down with them. He didn’t know why, but her look gave him a feeling of relief mixed with concern.
’What’s up with her?’ Levi’s heart skipped a beat, ’Don’t tell me she has figured out already my other identity? I was gone for a while, and she had all the information she needed.’
Levi turned to Arthur, the only other person at the table with the same clues as Jasmine... instead of seeing the same look, he saw him bickering with Jojo over food, even slapping each other’s hands as they reached out to each other’s favorite dishes.
’Little prick... has he already found someone to replace me?’ Levi showed an amused smile, noticing that his relationship with Jojo was starting to stick out from the group.
They always bickered and fought, but this time... he didn’t know; it felt like they were using it as an excuse to keep interacting with each other.
"Big Bro, as long as... cough... you’re safe... I don’t really care about the details." Arthur suddenly showed Levi a thumbs-up, rejoining the discussion after stuffing his mouth with Jojo’s food. He almost choked out twice, yet he still refused to let it go.
Meanwhile, Jojo stopped fighting him and started praying under her breath with clasped hands.
"I wish him a tape worm from the bottom of my heart... Namaste."
Levi chuckled at Jojo’s prayer as he was the only one who could hear it... But then, he was pulled back into a different subject after everyone realized that Levi had no plans on sharing what he had done in the past week with them.
"What about your evolutionary path? Any progress during your ’mission’?"
Shia asked while biting through a piece of steak without an ounce of feminine or royal elegance... the more freedom and distance she earned from her family’s etiquette and mother’s criticism, the less she cared about how others perceived her.
"Not so bad. I believe I should be ready to evolve in less than two weeks." Levi smiled and then asked, "What about you guys?"
"I have it planned for tomorrow." Nurah shared.
"In about three days for me?" Jojo added.
"Tonight for me," Shia said.
"Three days give or take?" Arthur scratched his cheek, "Pushing through Pathfinder rank proved to need more Growth totems than I anticipated... I am waiting on another shipment."
Levi nodded in understanding... he wasn’t too surprised by their growth results for the past week. With the treasures he gave them from Alzhukar’s wallet and what they found in the treasury, it should be more than enough to push them straight to Tier 6 if they had the evolutionary formulas already prepared.
Even if they had money now, buying Growth Totems still hurt their wallets and souls alike... after all, they were ordering them from the dimensional network, not from their home region.
Their home region had a limited supply of Growth Totems sold, depending on their global regional ranking... as for the conference’s store? It accepted only private currency that was earned through missions, raids, tasks, and such.
Still, thanks to what they went through in the Ancient Distorted Site, Dominic had shown them favor and rewarded them with a decent amount of currency to speed up their preparations for the upcoming Faction War.
"I guess then I will be the last... as usual." Levi smiled and then turned to Jasmine... sending a dimensional message, ’What’s up with you?’
He was used to her introvert silence in their gatherings, as she was always quiet and smiling sweetly, like she was just happy to be involved. But now? He could tell that something was up.
’Let’s talk privately after dinner.’ Jasmine responded.
’...ok.’
Levi approved and returned to his friends’ discussion about their upcoming mutations and power-ups... while Arthur wished for Jojo’s horn to grow bigger, and she wished for his muscles to shrink, Levi kept pondering deeply over what had happened.
But, no matter how hard he thought about it, he always arrived at the same conclusion.
’She knows.’
***
Sometime later...
Levi and Jasmine walked down a staircase of vines that led to a small, cozy oval balcony hidden inside the World Tree’s exterior trunk... the night air felt chilly, and the branches above them carried dim lights from the southern aurora lights.
The view was absolutely breathtaking, making anyone feel like they had stepped into a scene from a fantasy.
-When did you find this spot?- Levi asked in wonder.
-I like to find hidden gems for my drawings.- Jasmine smiled as she gazed at the mesmerizing view before them.
She didn’t confirm it, but Levi could tell that she must have already drawn the view in front of them... unfortunately, he couldn’t really enjoy its beauty to its fullest extent with his limited vision.
When Jasmine spotted the tiny drop of his smile as he gazed in front of him, she knew exactly what went through his mind... as she was also someone who couldn’t fully appreciate the beauty of nature as it was.
She reached into her wallet and manifested a framed painting of the view with an insane level of detail.
Usually, Jasmine only drew using black ink. But for this one... she used colors too, capturing the entire essence of the scenery before them from A to Z.
An immense amount of work had gone into this painting, and it was clear to all. Yet, she handed it to Levi with both hands and a soft smile tugging on her lips.
-For you...-
-Me?-
Levi was left dazed for a moment... mostly from Jasmine’s gesture, but also from the painted scenery before him. It wasn’t just a landscape on a frame... he could feel the solitude, the cold air, the soft lights of the aurora captured like someone had frozen time.
His Harmonic Spine couldn’t paint outside its range, but it still showed him Jasmine’s work with clear precision, highlighting every careful brushstroke, the layering of colors, and the way she blended the lights like they were alive.
The moment the scene settled in his mind, all Levi needed to do was imagine it standing in front of him, and the Harmonic Spine formed a minimized version of it in his field of vision. Dimmer, simpler, missing some depth... yet accurate enough for him to appreciate it.
It might not be like the real thing... but it was still something no one else had ever thought to do before. Except his brother, who tried to describe the world for him with honest effort, even if he always fumbled with details.
-You helped me hear twice... I know this isn’t the same... but it’s my humble effort to help you see, if just for a little.- Jasmine signed with the same soft smile after handing him the gift.