"What right do you have to say I'm not worthy of my class?" I asked, my voice starting to rise. I didn't like Ethan's attitude who was actually judging my own abilities.
Mainly when he blamed this unexpected incident on me. I don't understand why they would think like that. The goblins came unnoticed, nor did we know there were goblins in the forest that morning.
"Because you don't know anything about it," explained Ethan, I thought he'd explain why he judged me one-sidedly, but he just made fun of me like a bully.
"Damn it!"
I let go of Eve from my arms and immediately grabbed the collar of the shirt that was being worn by Ethan. Several members of the Conservation Union began to be alert to my bad reaction from their leader, natural behavior for an errand boy.
"Didn't I already tell you? I won't be joining your group, even after something like this!" I groaned.
"Why do you keep following me?!" I continued, starting to tighten my grip on Ethan's collar.
"I don't want anything bad to happen to you," replied Ethan, the same answer as the other day.
I quickly pushed the man's body in front of me so that he fell on Eve's training ground. Then, several other Adamas pointed their weapons at me, from swords to axes to arrows. I noticed Nicholas was doing the same thing. If they still insisted on pointing their weapons at me, I'd assume they all didn't believe what I said.
"Same as what Nicholas told me. I'm still a weak, ordinary loser who hasn't dared to sacrifice his life for the safety of others," I explained.
It started to rain, but it wasn't usually raining today. We hadn't left the training ground at all, unlike Seth and Alain who had been escorted off to Union headquarters.
"You don't have to follow me if you want to save your lives," I pleaded.
I looked firmly at the people in front of me. My left hand feels so warm; when I turn my face away, I see Eve gripping my palm tightly with both of her hands.
"Please, don't be stupid!" Eve pleaded, her face pleading like she was begging.
"They're right. If you stay close to me, you will suffer like them," I replied.
During the rain, Eve hugged me tightly like an older sister hugging her beloved little brother. I didn't react and felt soft whispers coming from the woman's mouth.
"If you want to go, I'll come with you."
"Don't you understand? Being near me is the same as dying," I answered.
"I don't care! I just want to stay close to you; you are like a child to me," said Eve.
My heart was touched; it was the first time she had said something this deep. I didn't feel good either refusing Eve's wishes, but bringing her with me would cause her new troubles.
I snapped my fingers and my status information immediately appeared. I pressed the friend's menu, and I saw that there were only four people who became my friends starting from Eve, Ethan, Seth, and Alain.
"If you don't want to be bothered with me, then you don't have to know where I am!" I insisted, pressing William Ethan's name and starting to turn off my location feature on him.
That way, Ethan wouldn't know where I was. Also, it would make it easier for me to do dangerous things without having to be restricted by the scouts from the Union.
"Don't act rash! We wouldn't be there to help you if you were in danger." Ethan insists that I reactivate the location feature on him, but I won't change my mind. They can't know where and with whom I am.
"I don't care. I will live freely outside of your cages. Let me grow as strong as I can without being controlled by the Union," I explained, taking Eve's hand and starting to walk out of Eve's training ground with mixed feelings.
In the pouring rain, Ethan called my name again, making these legs stop walking. I turned around and immediately looked into the Union Leader's eyes firmly. No more negotiating for them; let it be at their loss to intimidate me.
"We will keep our group's greatest potential to save this Kingdom from destruction, even if it must be forced," explained Ethan.
"Potential? What do you mean?" I asked, wondering about Ethan's ambiguous statement.
Ethan glanced at Nicholas slowly. The young man nodded. As seen from the light raindrops that fell, Nicholas' right hand took some arrows and started aiming at Eve and me with focus.
I pulled out my sword and gave it to Eve. Then, I pressed the circle button on the stick I held until Allegiance turned back into a perfect spear shape.
I saw Eve fend off an arrow that shot fast from Nicholas. Then, a few other Adamas started running over to apparently catch me and throw Eve away.
I couldn't possibly fight them all; the only possibility I had was to escape. So I quickly grabbed Eve's hand and headed down the hill on slippery ground, prone to ankle injuries if not careful.
They're chasing; the only one bothering me is Nicholas alone. That man could have paralyzed my legs, so I could no longer walk because of the injury.
"I can beat them!" Eve insists, I nod, but that's not really my intention.
"Don't. Even if you can kill them, I don't want another bloodbath to happen," I explained.
Eve was silent. She ran with me through the woods to get to the town center. At least when we reached the city center, we could be protected by the police and other adventurers.
While running, Eve suddenly groaned in pain. She fell on her stomach, making her clothes and front pants dirty with mud. I could see clearly, that an arrow was stuck in the calf of Eve's right leg.
"Damn!" I groaned.
"Go away. You need to save yourself," Eve explained. I wouldn't let it go.
They were quite far apart, and I benefited from the blurry vision caused by the heavy rain. I saw a large rock to my right, so I decided to take shelter there for a while until things turned out safe.
Eve was able to walk through limping. We tried to move quickly so they wouldn't notice we were hiding. Finally, I got behind the big rock and hoped they wouldn't find it.
I heard though not very clearly, the footsteps of all of them were getting closer and farther away. Ethan's men must be targeting Eve's log house as the place we're headed.
I noticed that the arrow was stuck deep in Eve's calf. There's no way I can just pull it off. Eve herself still hadn't spoken anything.
I'm sure there must be someone I can ask for help in this place. However, I doubt he'll ever come out of the house in the middle of a rainstorm like this.
"Are you still able to walk? We need to find a house or shelter for you to rest," I said, Eve nodding her head with a pale face she showed me.
Holding hands, I took Eve for a walk through the woods on the other side. However, we had only walked a few meters. Eve was already groaning in pain.
I had to carry the woman and began to walk by strengthening my legs. I noticed on the right and left that there wasn't a single shelter I could use. If I go deeper into the forest, I'm afraid we'll run into forest monsters that might endanger our safety.
The longer I walked, I finally found a small wooden hut with a yellow light shining brightly inside. I'm grateful; at least we can make it through the night peacefully.
I took Eve to the door of the hut. My right hand immediately knocked lightly on the wooden door, which was immediately opened by an older man.
"Excuse me, can we-"
"Come in quickly," the old man interrupted, telling me to enter without listening to our pleas.
I nodded firmly and immediately put Eve on the ground face down. The older man gave us a blanket that was not so thick but enough to cover Eve and me from the cold.
"What happened to you guys?" said the old man, looking worried.
"A hunter took the wrong aim, so he hit my friend's leg."