Chapter 1: Humiliated

"Of course trash like you would think begging me would do anything." She spoke in a cold voice. A young lady with crimson hair, pale skin and a figure that was to die for, she clung to the hand of a young man who was well over six feet tall, wearing a clean three-piece black suit. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, a sharp jawline that carried his smirk perfectly.

They were both looking down at the young man that was in front of them. Scrawny, rough black hair, wearing an old grey T-shirt and worn-out jeans. He was on the floor, looking up at her with confusion and pain in his eyes.

"Scarlet, I gave you everything, throughout high school and even the first years of college." He said in a voice that sounded more like begging.

"Tch, don’t disgust me, Leon. Dating you was the worst mistake that I ever made. You are nothing but a bottom feeder, someone not even worthy of licking the boots of Liam here." She spoke about the man standing beside her, and Leon let out a prideful chuckle.

"Come on, Liam, you should stop embarrassing yourself. This is a high-class clothing store, everyone is looking at you with pure disgust because you are making a total scene.

Scarlet has outgrown that little high school love that you all had and has now found something better. Get up and do not disgrace yourself further. I’ll give you a few thousand credits so you can buy yourself some food to eat." Liam spoke in a condescending manner, his words targeted to stab and hurt, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Tch, what the hell is someone like him doing in a store like this? He should absolutely not be here."

"Yeah, just look at him, he is a stain to this establishment."

"Someone should call the manager to come kick him out. He is disrespecting Liam, an A-ranked hunter."

Leon heard all the voices around him and what they said. He clenched his fist on the ground. The best thing to do now was to leave with his pride. It was clear that he had lost and Scarlet had left him for someone that was better in every single way. Instead, that made his rage grow.

"Arghh, screw you, screw you all," Leon said and rose to his feet. He charged in recklessly, throwing a punch right at Liam’s face.

Liam seemed to have been expecting that and so reacted immediately. He moved his hand, his fist erupted with fire, and he punched Leon right in the gut. The punch landed so hard that it sounded like something had exploded right inside the store.

Leon coughed up a mouthful of blood, eyes popping from his head, body bent completely. He flew back through the air faster than a thrown ball and slammed right into the wall of the store, leaving a spiderweb crack in the wall.

He slid down into a collapsed state, no longer moving at all.

The manager of the store rushed out, a middle-aged man. He had on a clean luxury suit and carried himself with respect. When he spotted Liam, he rushed to him immediately.

"Master Liam, I heard there was an issue in the store," the man said while bowing to Liam.

"Ah, it was nothing much, simply someone trying to harass my woman." He said while pointing at Leon. "I handled it, but I’d really like it if you throw the waste of space outside now. He is spoiling the air for everyone."

The manager heard that and immediately his eyes snapped to Leon, who was on the ground. His face twisted into pure rage. He pulled his sleeves up and tapped on the watch on his arm, immediately sending a message to the guards. The guards rushed in and saw the manager standing there in anger.

"Who let this trash into my store? Do you all wish to lose your jobs?" He yelled at them in anger. "Get him out of here and make sure that you never allow him back in."

The guards rushed and grabbed Leon. They pulled him off the ground and started dragging him away while everyone watched, some laughed and some scoffed.

"He really thought he could take back Liam’s lady? A hunter’s lady? Some people are way too stupid."

"Tch, I felt so disgusted watching him grovel and beg. The likes of him should not be allowed in places like this."

The guards dragged Leon all the way out and then proceeded to toss him outside the entire mall. He was left there on the ground as people walked past him and stared, wondering what had happened.

"Cough cough." Leon coughed up some blood. He struggled to get back on his feet.

’Look at me, complete shit. Xander had told me he saw her here with someone else and I rushed to come, thinking something would happen, only to get beat up and humiliated.

How could I be so foolish? I should have seen this years ago. She stopped loving me a long time ago, but I held onto my stupidity.’

Leon staggered and kept walking, heading back to his apartment. It was in a small part of town a few minutes away from his university. He did not have enough money to pay for a campus room and so had to find one in an old, broken-down house. The landlord was pretty chill and allowed students and young people to stay in the building.

Leon arrived back at the building. He walked up the stairs and headed to his room. At that same time, someone opened their door, his next-door neighbor, a lady with silver hair, small frame and cute face. They had never spoken, but they knew of each other.

She stared at him, seeing the injuries on his body. Leon ignored her and pulled out his key. He unlocked the door and walked in. He took only a few steps inside his room and shut the door. He did not bother walking forward anymore. His body gave in.

He collapsed to the floor, slamming into the ground hard.

’Screw my fucked-up life already, let me just die.’

[Max Despair accumulated]

[You have awakened the Investment System]

[Congratulations]