Chereads / Leveling with the Puppets / Chapter 17 - Ch 17: Unfriendly encounters [pt2]

Chapter 17 - Ch 17: Unfriendly encounters [pt2]

"Hello there! My name is Clair, and this is my teammate. I hope you were not too startled by rough mannerisms. I will have to teach him from the start otherwise."

Light blue eyes playfully looked at Soma from a face crafted from perfection.

The pointed ears on the unknown lady's face made her an elf.

And as if her striking blue eyes were not enough, her forest-green hair, paired with unmarked skin and gracefulness, would indicate that she was not human.

From the calm way this female behaved to the graceful feeling she gave off, it all pointed to only one thing - this elf was someone born in the tower and was now at the starting point of making a name for herself.

Soma's instincts warned him not to trust this lady, so he kept guard.

Clair's teammates (bodyguards?) noticed this and instantly took offense.

"Hey! How dare you look at our princess with such a viscous look in your eyes?"

"You better look down, punk. Otherwise, I will snatch your eyes out of your face."

Clair's group's two most vocal people picked up their weapons and threatened Soma.

Both bodyguards were big-bodied and looked strong at first glance.

[Mind's eye has been activated.]

Soma activated his skill to know more about his opponents.

He could tell that his chances of winning against the two guards were 80%, and against Clair, it was 100% based on stats.

But stats were only some things in the tower, and Soma wondered if Clair would be this confident if she was weak.

"What do you want from me? Before you even ask - no, I will not join your party. If that is what you are here for, head back now."

Soma waved his hand and pretended to relax before Clair's group.

He might be pretending he was unbothered, but he kept an eye on Clair and what she would do next.

"Oi! Are you looking down on us? Do you even know who we are?"

The man Soma dubbed as Bodyguard #1 yelled, trying to look intimidating.

But the more he tried to show his presence, the weaker he seemed to Soma.

"Should I care about who you are? You will leave me alone if you do not want to die."

Soma threatened as he let off Icy Jewel. Cold mana seeped out of his sword, causing his opponents to shiver.

A flash of surprise passed through Clair's eyes before she closed them and regained her usual self.

"Oh my! You are even more extraordinary than I first expected you to be. Are you a tower-born like me? That would explain how you are so powerful and confident. It will also explain why you think you do not need me."

Clair finally stood from where she was sitting.

She looked small from Soma's current position on the Mechanical Mokey's shoulder, but he did not let his guard down before her.

Finally, Clair got close enough to touch the monkey, and Soma waited for her to do something.

Green energy filled the air around Clair, and Soma suddenly felt his body filled with energy.

[Strength buff has been cast on you. Your strength will increase by 3% for the next hour.]

[Healing buff has been cast on you. You will recover 3% faster]

[Speed buff has been cast on you. Your moment speed will increase by 1%]

Soma was surprised by these sudden notifications. 

He looked at the female in front of him with impressed eyes.

Support players were almost unheard of in the tower since they rarely survived or made it far.

They mainly were sucked dry by their team or killed off during combat first.

These skills also needed a lot of control to cast.

How would Soma know? 

Simple - he had initially been a support type and had to hide his abilities. 

He was sure he would still get the same 'initial buff' once he finished the tutorial.

"See? Aren't these skills enticing? Don't you want to make me your ally now? I will allow you the privilege of-"

"There is no need. Your buff is useful but not necessary to me. I don't think I can rely on you so I will decline your offer."

Soma cut Clair off before she finished speaking.

This attitude reminded her of the other rankers she knew who dismissed her mother because she was a support.

Clair's mother was a submissive person, so she never said anything about it and took all the abuse she was dealt with.

Clair had watched her mother deal with hardship all her life, and she had vowed to be different from her.

"Hey! Don't say such words to Princess Clair! You don't know how incredible her skills are."

"That's right! Perhaps you will know what you are missing out on once we beat you up."

The big-bodied players quickly got into position to try and grab a hold of Soma.

But he was too agile for them to catch.

He did not want to kill any players who made it this far because they all had potential.

'I can tell that Clair has ambition and will not submit easily to others. With good company and decent partnership, she might become a strong player in the future.'

It would be a shame for Clair to die once more.

Since Soma had never heard of a support called Clair (which was difficult since the world of support was small and tightly knit), it was apparent what had happened to her.

Still, he would not join her party because he had chosen his part.

"Hump! If you do not want to join me, then that is fine. You can just get crushed by my teammates."

Clair pretended not to care but cast a few buffs on her teammates.

Soma was ready for the fast punch and managed to block it with his sword.

The sharp edge of his sword caused the attack to pull back instantly.

Soma had used the sharp edge of his sword to block, so the pain should be excruciating.

He watched with envy as Clair healed the minor injury in seconds.

'Tsk, the amount of money this team must save on potions must be killer. Still, I can tell these goons will not help Clair if she ever gets in trouble.'

Soma decided to test his theory.

He brought out a small knife he had bought from the shop for 50 coins and threw it toward Clair.

Her bodyguard could have saved her if he decided to be alert, but that did not happen.

Instead, Clair pulled the bodyguard she was heading in front of her so that she would remain safe.

"You used your teammate as a shield to protect you. That's even more brutal than I imagined you being."

Soma was surprised by Clair's actions.

She looked like a person who would not hurt a soul.

"Tsk, well, what do you expect? My team can always stand back on their feet if I am alive and they are not dead. Isn't it fine to use other people to save my life since I am the core of this team?"

Clair asked with complete confidence.

Soma noticed how the second bodyguard (the one Clair had pulled in front of herself) flinched at her words.

"Yeah, sure! Your actions indicate that you have no regard for your teammate's lives. That just gives me another reason not to team up with you."

Soma declared, but Clair remained quiet this time.

"H-Hey! You cannot talk to Clair like this! We are the ones who are willing to give our lives for her-!"

The first bodyguard spoke passionately and confidently, forcing these words out of his mouth.

'Ah, this team will fall apart soon.'

That was what this team's composition looked like to Soma.

But it was none of his business, so he decided to walk away.

"I will give you one last piece of advice, miss support. You better find a teammate you can trust before you end up dead. Since you have decided to go down the 'team' route, you better commit to it."

Soma walked away without joining Clair's team.

Clair felt humiliated at her defeat, and she also knew that she had lost a lot of trust with her teammates.

'It's fine! It's not like I needed their support anyway. These people are the ones who need me and not the other way around.'

Once Clair had steeled her mind and heart, she looked up confidently.

"Tsk, why did I think we needed that rude man to be our teammate? We do not need him anyway! Let's head out. I am sure we can challenge the next part ourselves."

Clair decided not to think much about the man walking away from her.

'My party and betray me! Ha! As if that is even possible. They are too well-trained and dependent on me to do such a thing.'

Clair only had her skills to be confident about, so she decided not to think much about Soma's words.

She was sure that he was jealous of her success.