Chapter 114- You In?

Chapter 114: Chapter 114- You In?

Chapter 114- You In?

Rize didn’t want to stop or even look back. The last thing he wanted was to have to deal with Rose. Aside from the fact that she was an extremely strong and formidable foe, coming from a lineage of warriors, she was a highly trained killing machine with an insanely powerful gift to back her up.

But, more importantly, Rize knew better than to try to create any problem with someone as important as Rose, as it was simply too much trouble, even for Venera. The last thing he wanted to do was bring more trouble to Venera’s door.

So, Rize ran as fast as he could while being relentlessly chased by Rose. He took a sharp turn and ran through an alley as Rose followed him.

’Why the hell is she running after me?! Did she actually recognize me?’ He thought to himself as he tried to take another sharp turn to lose her. However, no matter how many turns he took, Rose was still in hot pursuit with immense speed.

’I would be able to lose her if I could just use essence, but these bastards don’t allow it.’ He thought to himself as he looked around him. ’Where should I even go?!’

Eventually, Rize noticed that he was getting close to the main area where the biggest chunk of candidates were. Everyone was still trying to get as many badges as they could, so the battles didn’t stop for a while.

’Maybe if I get mixed with them, she would lose me.’ He mused as he dashed straight toward the fray.

’Is he...?’ The girl frowned.

Rose looked at Rize’s back with cold eyes as she increased her speed. She had to get to him before he got lost amongst the massive crowds.

"I only want to talk. I am not trying to attack you." She said as she noticed a few people in their way. "You’re that boy from years ago? The one who beat up those spoiled noble brats?"

"..." Rize clenched his teeth as he looked over his shoulder. ’She does remember me. Great, what should I do now?’

Rize knew that he could keep running and eventually lose her, but wouldn’t that be a huge waste of time? Either way, if both of them pass this test, she will probably try to look for him again.

He had to deal with this problem right here and now. Knowing Rose, she was someone who held her word, so if she said she didn’t want to attack him, that was most likely the case. So, with an annoyed look, Rize finally came to a halt as he turned around and faced the girl.

Rose finally came to a halt and looked at him. "Why did you even run?" She said.

"Well, this isn’t particularly the best time to chat with anyone. Everyone wants to take your badge, so I thought you might want my badge, Miss Rose." Rize said calmly.

"Hm, you remember me?" She asked.

"Our first meeting wasn’t particularly a normal one. I do remember, yes." He said. "So, why did you want to talk to me?"

"Hm, I was simply curious as to whether that was truly you or someone who looks like you," Rose said as she looked around her. "How is your progress?"

"I mean, not too bad," Rize replied as he looked at his bag. He didn’t know whether this is considered great or not compared to the others, but the test had just started, so he was planning to collect more and more badges. His targets were now those who had collected badges themselves, as they were the quickest way to increase the number.

Rose looked at him silently for a second. Rize looked quite strong, and the fact that he had a bag that big filled with badges told her more than enough. She was aware that the test was only going to get harder with time, and her goal was to get a high spot early on and make her time easier.

That was when an idea popped into her head. An idea that she wasn’t planning to pursue earlier, but seemed more plausible now that she met Rize.

"Say. Do you want to team up?" Rose asked.

"Huh?"

"Me and you, we team up and help each other get as many badges as possible," Rose said calmly. "I can tell you’re aiming for a high position."

"..." Rize looked at her with squinted eyes, not expecting that question out of nowhere. He knew the kind of person Rose was. She wasn’t someone who teams up with strangers; she was as much of a lone wolf as anyone could get. Yet, somehow, she wants to work with him? It was shocking.

"Why would you want to team up with me? You don’t know me." Rize said.

"I have a keen eye for people. You seem like the perfect teammate to have in this test. We can definitely help each other and get the top spots we need." Rose said. "So, what do you say?"

"Well..." Rize thought for a moment. ’This is such a headache. I don’t even know if I should trust her or not.’

"I’m looking for a friend of mine. So I must refuse." Rize said. "I’m sure you could find someone else who meets your expectations."

"A friend?" Rose raised an eyebrow. "I don’t mind. We can look for your friend. It won’t be a problem."

"..." Rize was completely speechless for a second. ’Why is she so adamant about teaming up with me? Is she ok in the head?’

Rize didn’t even know what to say anymore as he sucked in a deep breath. ’Well, to be fair, Rose is quite a formidable individual. She could definitely help me get even more badges than I intended to. I already planned to work with Venera to get the intended number, but since I lost her, I guess working with someone who isn’t that much weaker is good enough.’

Rize knew that Rose was someone he didn’t know. But this was a matter of weighing his options and seeing which choice would benefit him more.

In that regard, Rose was not a very hard option to accept. She had everything he needed to achieve his goal in this test.

"So?" Rose asked again. "You in?"