**** Hailey's POV ****
'Oh my God. He must have just finished in the Dungeons or he is taking a break, and the first thing he says in the middle of the night is that.'
In my limited experience with dating culture, a 'You up?' text was code. Code for are you in need of a companion in bed.
I like Theodore but we had to go slow! I wasn't that kind of girl!
After almost thirty minutes of inner conflict, Hailey still replied,
"I am, you?"
Her heart was pounding however she never got a reply that night. After ten minutes of waiting, she realized he must have fallen asleep. At first she was upset, however after thinking about how he had been in the Dungeons for hours, her expression softened. She hoped he was alright. She hugged a stuffed animal on her bed and fell asleep dreaming of visiting Theodore tomorrow.
**** Theodore's POV ****
As I woke up, I checked my phone. I saw the messages from Hailey, and figured I would freshen up before I got my day started. I went to the bathroom and showered. As I came out, I was composing a message to Hailey, I wanted to ask her to come over so we could talk. I was going to share my discovery from leveling up my system.
I was nervous though, I had never really texted any girls, especially after my accident that left my face scarred. I knew the implications that came with asking a girl to come over, even if you meant well, and didn't want to offend Hailey in any way. So I had spent another twenty minutes explaining why I wanted her to come over, when I heard my doorbell ring. I came to the door, with a sword floating just above the doorway, in-case I was attacked again, and opened it. I relaxed when I saw it was Hailey.
"Ah, it's you Hailey. I was just thinking about you." I said, as I walked away from the door and headed to the living room. "I had a lot of unexpected gains last night when I finished my tenth dungeon run. I also achieved this." I motioned towards her, which led to my floating sword to float down next to her.
Hailey was definitely surprised, because what she was seeing was nothing short of magical. I gave Hailey all of the items I had received, and told her about the system and the changes. We ended up speaking for a few hours, while she dismantled the items I gave her. She then posted them on the Shop and returned to me 60% of the money that was made. We had agreed on this amount since I was the one providing the items, while she dismantled and sold them for me.
"I have been thinking, and I think I will create a space skill. The ability to close distances or reduce the distance between where I strike and the enemy. Maybe a teleportation skill." Hailey said, after having thought carefully about her own fighting style that was much more aggressive than mine.
"That's probably ideal, I would suggest tweaking it into one where the ability is much weaker but has more added capabilities. Allowing it to grow would allow you to buy something that is weak now, but will be very formidable in the future. Check the shop as well, to see if any skills there can possibly be used instead of the [Skill Creation Ticket]. That way you could just use one already created and then create a different skill entirely. This is going to be your future path to getting stronger, so be sure to move in the direction you want. I think anything is possible with the Dungeons and systems. I am going to enter the Dungeons again, and farm today. Do you want to stay here tonight? So we can regroup and talk about everything again?"
"Y-y-you want me to sleep here... tonight?" Hailey asked, blushing.
"Yeah, I have enough room so you can sleep in the room next to mine. I think you're the only person I can talk to about the Dungeons and I feel we have become friends if not at least allies." I said, not noticing her blushing and fidgeting. "I'll order enough food for tonight, and some groceries to be delivered. Here, take my card and order anything you want as well." I said, handing her my debit card. I trusted Hailey enough to know she wouldn't take advantage of me. Besides, I could just cash out my gold for money at any time. With what we sold today in components, the two of us had made 1000 gold, so I had an extra $600,000 from last night.
I walked towards my room to get ready for the dungeon dives today. Hailey had left to go get some things to spend the night, and so I took the chance to get a little extra run in.
I chose the Easy difficulty again, because with 10 monsters I could easily kill, with each guaranteeing a drop I would be able to roll for better loot with my new [Accumulating Luck] skill.
I loaded into the dungeon, and it began the countdown.
[10]
[9]
...
[1]
There was no fear on my face anymore. I walked with my hands in my pockets, and began to search for the goblins. Everytime I ran into one, my sword would immediately accelerate and stab them in the neck before they could respond. I continued to convert my items into luck, and eventually it began to show results. By the second dungeon run, after my 16th Goblin killed, I had gained a green item.
[Sylph Necklace (Green) obtained.]
The necklace increased one's Agility and Intellect, however I didn't need it currently, but when I thought of Hailey, I decided to cash it out. I kept the item, and killed the remaining four Goblins in the dungeon. I came out, and went to go find Hailey to give her the necklace for her dungeon diving today.
I walked to the room next to mine, and opened the door. "Hailey I found this green tier item that I think would be perfect for you-"
I stopped in the middle of my sentence because Hailey was in the middle of changing, and we both stood there for a moment not saying a word.
I put the necklace on the dresser by the door, and slowly walked out. Closing the door gently, before sprinting to my room.
"THEODORE I'M GOING TO BEAT YOU UNTIL YOU FORGET WHAT YOU SAW, AND REMEMBER TO KNOCK NEXT TIME!" Hailey screamed. I heard her shuffling in the room, and knew she would be out soon. I quickly jumped into an Easy dungeon, to escape. I almost forgot which side of the Dungeons the real monsters were on.
**** Hailey's POV ****
I had only yelled at him to scare him, because I knew what he gave me was definitely precious. It was an item that was worth several thousand gold. It had two primary Stats, both of which would be useful to her for a long time.
'It's beautiful. Such a pure green color, and the design is very simple while looking naturally formed. I know he only gave it to me because of the Stats, but nevertheless it's still nice to receive a necklace from a boy...'
'He also saw me in my underwear... He was just staring for a while though... I wonder if he likes me?' Hailey had these thoughts as she looked at herself in the mirror. She shook her head and finished getting dressed. She didn't want to fall behind Theodore's growth, and be a burden, so she quickly prepared to enter the dungeon.
After selecting the Easy difficulty of the Wolves Forest, she began her own hunt.
[Monsters will spawn in 10 seconds.]
[10]
[9]
...
[1]
Hailey began her hunts for the day, and she would soon realize the benefits training with Theodore provided her.