Chapter 54: New Member!

Looking at the emotional Terry in front of him, Ethan knew he had to be ruthless.

At least let him understand who was in charge.

If he didn’t, then when Terry gained a bit of strength, wouldn’t he turn his fingers at him?

Ethan absolutely could not let that happen.

Because of that, he had to let Terry understand just how strong he was.

’But then again, it’s not like what I said is a lie. With my current strength, it’s more than enough to kill him before he reacts.’

Thinking of his attribute points that were at least 120, even now he could more than defeat his sister who had two abilities and a mana circle.

For someone like Terry who had just awakened, even if he had summons, how strong could they be?

In no way was Ethan worried about his safety.

’The issue is, what if he does something when I’m not around?’

’Judging from the level of mana I sense in his core, he should have the same potential as Victoria.’

’Meaning this kid can grow into S-class.’

’Such strength, unless the mage system develops to a certain stage, would be hard to keep in check.’

With his hand on his chin, Ethan began to go through his memories.

From the stories he read, wizards in novels had created all kinds of spells.

Some of which included slavery spells, contract spells, and so on.

Perhaps if he found the right ability user, he could understand and create one in the future.

For now, he could only make sure to make Terry afraid of him, as well as ensure that either Elena, he, or Victoria is at camp at a time.

Or take him with him whenever they left.

Lost in thought, Ethan’s mind began to wander. After all, he never expected to pick up a potential S-class on the road.

He had to be more than cautious at this point, because he, more than anyone, knew just how terrifying an S-class’s strength is.

"I..."

"I agree to come with you."

Interrupting Ethan’s thoughts, Terry, who had been silent for a while finally spoke up.

Kneeling down on one knee, his eyes turned emotionless and his voice was filled with determination.

"I understand what you mean, and I understand the dangers of you taking me."

"But I swear that I will never betray you." He paused, looking straight into Ethan’s eyes.

"Ever since I left the orphanage, my foster parents, my school, my teachers..."

"Everyone bullied and looked down on me."

"However, now things have changed."

The more he spoke, the more Terry’s voice began to rise.

Clearing off the tears from his eyes from before, he turned to look at Victoria.

"Big Sis Victoria... no, Victoria."

"I hold no grudge against you, and I understand you said what you said to protect the other kids."

"However, now that the world has changed and I seem to have awakened some strange power..."

"I no longer want to suffer."

"I no longer want to be beaten just for simply existing."

"I want to live!"

At this point, sensing the emotion in the young child in front of them, even Elena couldn’t help but look at him twice.

Was this really a 15-year-old child?

"I promise that if you let me go with you, as long as I get a chance to be happy this time..."

"No matter what work you tell me to do, as long as I can do it, I’ll do it!"

Still kneeling down, Terry expressed his heart.

He knew if he wasn’t sincere, the people in front of him might detect it and kill him.

So without hesitation, he had poured all his thoughts and emotions out.

At this point, even if he were to die, he wanted to die having expressed himself.

Fortunately for him, his sincerity worked.

It was unknown who smiled first, but looking at him with messy brown hair kneeling to show his loyalty,

Ethan and the others began to smile, as they felt he might not be such a bad person.

"Haha kid, are you a knight or something? What are you kneeling for?"

"But then again, your speech was good."

"Don’t worry kid, as long as you don’t betray us, then you will never be bullied again."

"Now stand up before your clothes get too dirty."

Stretching out her hand, Elena laughed as she suddenly wondered how strong his summons were.

If there were more than one, wouldn’t she have many sparring partners?

For a split second her eyes became hot as she seemed to have found her new practice buddy.

As for Victoria, seeing such a situation, she sighed in relief.

Truth be told, if Terry were to die in front of her today, although she wouldn’t have said anything, there would have inevitably been a gap between her and the Smiths.

Fortunately, that didn’t happen.

"Alright then, since everything has come to a close and we have a new member, let’s all get back to the shelter."

"By my guess, Grandpa and the others should have woken up."

"We need to arrange some things first before we actually head out," said Ethan, taking out the map of safety.

Luckily, there didn’t seem to be hostile creatures around at this time.

"Wait, what do you mean shelter? Didn’t the apocalypse just happen? Why do you already have a shelter?"

"Also, isn’t that like expensive?"

"Are you guys rich or something?" Looking at the three of them in shock, Terry, who had just joined their team, couldn’t help but be confused.

After all, if they were rich, then where did someone like Victoria know them from?

However, after thinking of it for a second, a shocking realization came across his face.

"Wait a minute, when you said work for the Smiths..."

"You aren’t...?"

His eyes widened with shock; he couldn’t believe it.

However, Ethan’s next words shattered his worldview.

"Indeed, we are that Smith you’re thinking about."

"Oh, and not only are we rich, but we’re the richest."

"Hahaha!"