Chapter 240: Unlucky Luke

The situation Erin found herself in was troublesome, one with major social consequences. It wasn’t like she could simply fight Luke off, as he could reveal all of her secrets out in the open right then and there.

If there was one thing that Erin was instilled growing up, it was to never go to a second location with a stranger. Still, when thinking whether or not she could take him in a fight at full strength, Erin didn’t think she would lose.

’He’s a level 7, and Nate was also someone of a similar level. I’ve lost to Nate before, but I’ve grown in leaps and bounds since then. I also have my blood sword, and other equipment,’ Erin thought, then a question entered her mind, and the system answered.

[Defeat Luke]

[Reward: Instant level up]

’An instant level up?’ Erin wondered.

This was something she hadn’t seen very many times before. Only once when it came to an advanced tier deathbat.

"If I had to take a guess, this would be because Luke is a challenging foe," the system explained, "The system must’ve dictated that you two are at equal strength, and as a result, has given you a reward to match the stakes."

The system’s voice annoyed her, but this was a rare opportunity, one she had to take. Her current EXP was at 350/12,800, and gaining more was harder now that she couldn’t attack smaller weaker opponents for rewards.

"Fine, I’ll go with you," Erin finally spoke.

Luke grinned, and giggled, "Don’t you worry about anyone watching, I’ve made sure we’ll be alone all night long."

Even though she was willing to play along for now, Erin kept her guard up. At any moment Luke could pull something and catch her off guard.

—

A trio of dazzling arrows exploded onto 3 targets one after another with perfect accuracy, and Fex watched in awe as Layla kept aiming true.

Ever since Layla lost her ability, she had to practice her accuracy, no longer relying on telekinesis. However, when whenever Layla missed a shot, it made her even more frustrated, and caused her to misfire another arrow, angering her again.

"Argh! Why am I so mad!?" Layla grumbled, and tossed her bow onto the floor.

Fex was so distracted by Layla that he stopped his accuracy training. When Layla saw that he was staring at her, he immediately began whistling and tossing knives at his target like nothing happened.

Sighing, Layla slumped on a bench. She had to calm herself down.

In the past, people at Pure would quietly make comments about her, saying she only got her current agent number because she was the daughter of one of its leaders. It frustrated her at times, but she would pretend she didn’t hear them, and try to move on with her day.

If she just proved herself, and completed her mission, then surely the people back home would realize that she wasn’t useless.

"So..." Fex loudly cleared his throat, joining her on the bench, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Layla scoffed loudly, but nodded, "I’m 6 out of the 7 pieces of meat I need to eat, and I have this powerful bow that Erin gave me. Yet, does she think I’m too weak to be on my own?"

Fex studied her carefully. As a ghoul, she was more prone to fits of anger, so Layla’s frustration was more evident. Despite this, Fex also knew that there was truth to her words.

"I know I defended you before, but let’s look at this from Erin’s perspective. Back on Caladi, when Erin brought you to us, she was out of it," Fex said, then his face softened "You mean a lot to Erin, she doesn’t want to lose you too."

"I know!" Layla shouted, then lowered her tone, "But— Ugh, I don’t know, maybe she has a point?"

Fex shrugged, "I do agree though, being constantly held back for the sake of ’safety’ is boring."

She sat there, not sure what to say, then slouched and lifted up her watch, "I hate for this to be such a major problem between us, especially since the inter-base tournament is tomorrow... I’m going to message her about meeting up."

The message was sent, and Layla awaited a response, only to get nothing.

"... Is she seriously giving me the cold shoulder?"

Fex opened his mouth to make a joke, but then Layla shoved a finger over it and glared, "Don’t you dare."

Pushing the finger to the side, Fex looked over the watch, and there wasn’t so much as a "read" message signaling Erin had seen it. Normally, Erin was quick to respond to Layla’s messages, so it was odd.

"Do you think something might’ve happened to her?" Layla wondered, then shook her head, "No, she’s probably just working out. Maybe I should meet up with her in person. Better sooner than later."

"Even if she doesn’t want to talk, she’s gotta do it eventually," Fex said, "Like her giving you her blood. By the way, have you been keeping up with your blood intake?"

In the middle of picking up her bow, Layla’s face grew bright red, and she nearly dropped it.

"Uh— Yeah! Yep! Totally! Never missed a date! I mean— who told you this?!"

Fex’s eyes narrowed, "Huh... Well, don’t let me hold you back. Go find her."

—

As Erin headed towards Luke’s room, she made several potential plans to escape. In all of the dorms so far, they each had windows. If things got disparate enough, she could jump out and land on the ground. She also had her shadow skills she could use if things got really hairy.

Things changed, however, when she actually entered inside.

On the walls in the corner of the dorm, were pictures of Erin, physically printed. They majorly consisted of her in public, but always from a distance, and when she wasn’t alone. It was no wonder Erin never noticed him before.

Then, a voice whispered next to her ear, "Now that you know I’m not lying..."

He spun her around, then pushed her onto the bed. It was fast, even for Erin.

’It’s not just the hardening ability, what other things does he have?’

Her eyes glanced downwards, and saw that he wasn’t wearing ordinary shoes. When it came to the school uniforms, they were all required to wear the same things, but their footwear was the one place where they could allow individuality.

Luke wasn’t wearing shoes for any fashionable statement. What he wore were a pair of beast boots, dark in color as to not attract attention. If it wasn’t for Erin using her inspect skill, she likely wouldn’t have noticed it to begin with.

[Inspect]

[King tier boots]

[Agility + 16]

Before Luke could get any closer, Erin pushed him back using all of her strength, causing him to crash into the kitchen counter. Then, she used shadow equip to put on her armor, and took out her Kilton blood sword.

"You may have had your secrets, but I did too. You’ve messed with the wrong girl, Luke."