Isadora looked at Azura in utter confusion.
Normally, any person who has the potential to become a Hybrid would initially start off being a normal human before they started accumulating mana of their affinity. Only when the mana was sufficient that they were ready to become a Hybrid.
One would become a Hybrid by choosing an Avatar.
Many Hybrids go with the legacy Avatar they are born with, while some take the braver path.
It's safer to choose the one you are born with, but if the legacy avatar was too weak, ranging around the F or E-grade, then it might be better to take a risk. But, of course, there are other side effects to be wary about.
But nevertheless, Azura should know about his own Avatar since he chose it.
"Is it really that weird to not know my own Avatar?" Azura asked.
Not even hesitating, Isadora replied with a firm nod.
A Hybrid should know of their avatar, as far as Isadora was concerned—Azura was the only one who didn't know his own avatar. "Do you not choose an Avatar on your own? How come you don't know?"
"Yeah, I suddenly became a Hybrid," Azura replied shaking his head.
Recounting back to last night, he sighed, "It's hard to explain, but I really don't know how"
He has some theories, but that was about it.
Once again, Isadora was caught off guard, she had never heard of something like this.
Every single person who could potentially become a Hybrid worked their asses off for a long time before they finally embrace their inner power. They all needed to put in blood and sweat to actually become one of the special people.
So the fact that Azura suddenly became a Hybrid raised some questions.
"Don't be too worried about it, I'm sure you're going to do fine. Since your affinity is the dark elemental mana, it should narrow down the list of what your avatar might be. If you so much as ask, I can help you figure it out" Isadora said, giving an obvious hint.
Upon hearing this, Azura's expression brightened, "Really? Then can you help me?"
"Since you asked, I might as well help you out," She replied with her usual, radiant smile while extending her hand, seemingly asking for something. But seeing that Azura was confused as to what she was asking for, she continued, "Your phone?"
"O- Oh, right!" Azura stuttered, taking out his phone and giving it to her.
Tapping on the screen a couple of times, she gave the phone back with her number in it.
"Be careful, alright?" Isadora suddenly said.
Although Azura was slow in taking social hints, he was not slow in this kind of thing. He was responsible for killing Zack and Brad, and those two were sent to him by Matthew. Since he knows that Matthew is a Hybrid, he should be expecting trouble.
Even though he did it out of self-defense, it wouldn't stop Matthew from aiming at him.
Just like Zack, Matthew wouldn't hear out his reason.
"Matthew might be a low-grade Hybrid, an E-grade Hybrid with a D-grade Zombie gene, but he came from quite a strong family with a strong faction. He will know that you did this, so be cautious starting from now," Isadora continued, warning him out of concern.
In her eyes, Azura was someone innocent.
She doesn't know how he could become fearsome earlier, yet she doesn't want him to die.
'Also, he seems to be special. Even his scent attracted me and Matthew. Whatever his Avatar is, it must be something really special,' Isadora pondered, looking at Azura curiously. She will definitely report this incident to her mother.
Curious, Azura then asked, "What about Zack and Brad? What is their Hybrid grade?"
"F, both of them are F-grade. But defeating them both requires a great skill" She replied.
Upon hearing this, Azura nodded a couple of times.
Matthew is stronger...? If an F-grade is that strong, then how strong are the others?
Just thinking about those at the B, A, or even S-grade made Azura shudder.
An F-grade Hybrid could already flip over a car and create cracks in the wall, so naturally, it goes without saying that Hybrids at the higher grade could do greater feats. Some might be able to destroy a building as far as he was concerned.
But as the atmosphere becomes gloomy, Azura's phone rings with an alarm, surprising them.
Checking the phone, his eyes widened in realization.
"Shit! I forgot that I had a night shift, today!" Azura exclaimed, quickly strapping his bag.
He was working part-time at the local convenience store near his house, and he was already about fifteen minutes late. Usually, he was doing his homework and also the additional work he needed to do for those who didn't want to do their own share of work.
Due to that, he set up an alarm to remind him that he had work.
Giving no explanation, Azura quickly darted away like the wind, "See you later!"
Isadora looked at his back going further away in contemplation.
She watched until he disappeared into the corner, "How long has it been since I had a night as interesting as this? What is he, really? I have never heard of someone suddenly becoming a Hybrid like he did. More importantly, he is very strong despite his naivety about Hybrids in general"
But as she thought of that, something came to mind.
"Hmm... Maybe I can strike a deal with him, yes, there's no need to tell Mother" She mused.
Just when she was about to leave too, her eyes widened seeing Azura came running back.
"Did you forget something?" Isadora asked, raising an eyebrow.
Panting lightly, Azura gave her an innocent smile.
"I almost forgot, what about the payment?"
"Payment? What payment?"
"I heard that guy from the Black Hand faction talking about payment, and I forgot to discuss it with you. How- How much will it cost? Well, the thing is, I don't really have... money. So it might take some time for me to pay for it"
"Wha-?"
Azura could only awkwardly scratch the back of his head.
He wanted Isadora to at the very least pay it for him first until he could repay her back.
Due to his financial conditions, anything about money made him nervous.
On the other hand, Isadora was at a loss for words, she didn't expect him to come running to her because of that matter. "Don't worry, I-" In the middle of her sentence, Isadora suddenly stopped before she corrected, "How about I pay for it first then you can pay it back to me?"
"Really? Then if you can do that, I'll really appreciate it!" Azura replied in excitement.
Isadora doesn't seem to come from a poor family, so she shouldn't be demanding him to pay back the money too frequently as for taking care of two corpses, Azura was quite sure that it wouldn't be cheap.
Had Isadora come from a poor family, she would give a deadline and that would burden him.
Raising a motorcycle key, Isadora then asked, "Why don't I give you a lift?"
A moment later, Azura got dropped off at the convenience store where he would be working.
Giving his thanks to Isadora, he watches her leave before his shoulders slumped hard.
"Eugh... I'm freaking tired" He grumbled lightly.
Since he had to grapple with a heavy matter earlier, killing, which was something that he had never done before, the mental and physical strain got to him. But even then, he couldn't skip his responsibilities lest he got fired.
Losing one job is bad enough, he couldn't afford to lose this one too.
Azura let out a heavy sigh before he went inside the convenience store with a ringing sound.
Instantly after he entered, he was bombarded with cursed words from the manager.
"Here we go again..." He uttered and put on a fake smile.
Eventually, after getting an earful, Azura sat behind the counter and looked at the time which showed eleven. Seeing that there were no customers, and would probably be empty for a bit at this time of the night, he decided to lay down his head on the counter.
Getting a brief shut-eye, even if it's only for ten minutes would be great.
But as he tried to sleep, he stood up abruptly remembering one important thing.
"Fuck! I still don't have the money to pay for the tuition!!" He screamed.
Azura messed his hair in frustration before slumping back down, stressing out even more.
Meanwhile, Isadora halted her blue chrome sport motorcycle at a junction. She removed her helmet and surveyed her surroundings thoughtfully, "Hmm... Matthew may encounter some problems reaching Azura in this area. If I recall correctly, this sector of the city falls under the governance of the Night Fang faction, overseen by the Zaleska Family—Ghouls"
"I heard their middle daughter died, so crossing them now would be very bad" She nodded.
From the looks of it, Azura would only need to be cautious in the university.
His living area should be safe from Matthew's reach.
Vroom!
Twisting the throttle, her motorcycle zoomed into the empty night street.
Eventually, at the stroke of six in the morning, Azura headed back home, fully exhausted.
Nothing would please him more than sleeping right now.
Despite knowing that he hadn't asked Caelum about how he got back from the camping site, he couldn't bear to stay awake for another minute and immediately passed out completely on the sofa without changing his clothes.
When he woke up, he didn't meet with Caelum again.
He must've already gone to school, there's nothing he could do but wait until later tonight.
Hopefully this day, there wouldn't be anything strange happening.
But surprisingly, as he was about to take a break in between classes, Isadora messaged him to meet her at the canteen. He came as requested, but then, Isadora dropped a bomb right into his ears.
"Azura, how does making a few grand a day sound?"
"What...? A few grand?" Not even hesitating, he turned serious. "Where do I sign?"