They arrived at a quiet, residential part of the city. Yenna's house was a small but clean-looking place, tucked between two larger buildings. Before they went inside, Vell stopped her at the door.
"Hey, I've been curious about this for a while now," he said, his voice dropping slightly. "How did you guys find me so fast back at the tree?" His fingers twitched, a subtle movement, but his body was coiled and ready to strike if her answer didn't feel right.
She sensed his sudden shift in mood, the coiled tension in his posture, but she played it cool, pretending not to notice. She wanted to test him, just a little.
"Well, we just got lucky," she said with a casual shrug. "The Association sent out a bunch of groups to search different parts of the city. We just happened to get the area where you were. It's actually lucky you met us instead of the other groups; we're more on the listening and patient side."
His killing intent vanished as quickly as it had appeared. She opened the door. "Don't worry so much. We're not going to hurt you or turn you in. If we wanted to, we would have done that by now. So come on in. Let's make something to eat; I am starving."
She ran into the house, and he followed, the lingering tension finally leaving his shoulders. Her house was nice, bigger on the inside than it looked. It was also very clean and smelled faintly of lavender.
"Wow, such a nice place you have here," he said, looking around. "I'm glad I came with you."
"Hehe, thanks. It's nothing much, but it's better than nothing." She took off her weapons, placing them on a small table by the door before walking into the kitchen. The fridge was mostly empty, but she found some eggs and bacon.
"So, what do you want? Eggs with bacon, or should we just cook some meat instead?" she called out, her head still in the fridge. When she turned around, she saw him holding her sword, examining it with a fascinated expression.
"It's late; eggs should be fine," he said, his eyes still on the blade. This was the first time he'd held a real player's weapon, and it looked like a high-quality piece of gear. "Wow, such a nice sword. I wonder how much one of these costs." He gave it a few experimental swings, like a kid with a new toy.
"It's pretty cheap," she said from the kitchen. "Just 10,000 credits."
He froze mid-swing. He glanced at the sword one last time, then very, very gently placed it back on the table. The price had shocked him so much he didn't know how to react. 10,000 credits? He could have lived like a king for a year with that much money.
"Ahem. Can I help with the eggs?"
She laughed a little at his panicked expression. She agreed to let him help, and dinner was ready in less than twenty minutes. As they sat at the small kitchen table, he saw it as a good chance to ask her more about the player lifestyle.
"So, what's it like being a player?"
"It's good, most of the time," she said after a thoughtful chew. "When your life isn't in danger, I mean. I've met a lot of good people since I became a player, and I earn way more than I did at my old job."
"That's nice. I'm surprised you live alone, though. I was expecting a boyfriend or at least a roommate."
"Meh, finding a good guy is hard these days," she said with a sigh. "And it's risky, too. I don't want either of our hearts to be shattered if one of us dies in a dungeon." She paused, then gave him a mischievous, seductive look. "But you seemed really specific on the boyfriend part. You want to shoot your shot?"
He just stared at her for a few seconds, his face a perfect blank, before calmly returning to his food.
'Shit, just kill me.' Yenna's face burned with embarrassment. She slowly picked at her food, stealing glances at him. The silence was deafening. The food suddenly tasted like cardboard in her mouth. What was he thinking? Why was he so quiet?
Finally, he stopped eating and looked up at her. She panicked, playing with her fork, her mind racing.
"I guess a girl is just a girl, huh?"
"Huh?" She looked up, relieved that he was finally talking again.
"How old are you?"
"Nineteen. Why do you ask?"
He smirked. "Well, I guess a two-year age difference isn't too bad."
"W-wait, huh? Two years? H-hold on, are you actually—"
"Okay, enough of that," he said, cutting her off as he stood up and took his plate to the kitchen. "Let's get some sleep; we have a busy day tomorrow."
She just stared after him, her mind a chaotic mess. 'What the hell? He actually wants me? And he's twenty-one? What's going on here? How should I respond? Dammit, I've never actually dated anyone. No one has ever been so direct with me like that. N-no, I'm reading too much into this. He was probably just joking… yeah, a joke. It has to be a joke… right?'
She got up from the table, her mind still swirling. He looked at her as she approached the kitchen and smiled.
'That will make her less cautious of me. Goal achieved.'
She felt too awkward to say anything else. She quickly showed him to his room and then ran off to her own, her heart still pounding.
Meanwhile, Vell was preoccupied with other thoughts. He sat on the bed in his new room, staring at a system screen that only he could see. He was reviewing his weasel's stats, wondering if he should evolve her now or wait.
[You should evolve her while you have this time alone. As you are now, you won't survive in any dungeon.]
'So I am that weak, huh… makes sense. I only looked strong compared to normal humans, but in the player world, I'm nothing but an ant.'
He sat up and crossed his legs, entering a meditative pose. The weasel, who he'd decided to name Wren, instinctively knew what he wanted. She jumped onto his lap and curled up, as if she could read his mind. He didn't question it. He just closed his eyes and mentally pressed 'yes' to begin the evolution.
[Beginning beast evolution.]
[Slot: 1]
[Beast: Weasel (Common)]
[Required Mana: 300]
[Estimated Beast Rank: EE]
[Time left: 2h 39min]
He exhaled slowly, feeling his mana being drained from his cores as it flowed into Wren. It was a strange feeling, warm and relaxing, and with each passing second, he could feel his bond with the little creature getting stronger.
'I wonder how she'll look after this. But I can't just sit here and do nothing. I should test some things as well.'
He entered a deep state of concentration, feeling nothing but the flow of mana around him. 'I haven't had time to really assess my body and my mana. The core near my heart has a lot of power, but the other two are pretty empty. Last time, I couldn't absorb more mana because my body was still changing. But what if I try it now, after I've rested?'
He began to pull mana from the air around him, letting it in slowly. At first, it hurt as the incoming mana clashed with the mana flowing out to Wren. So, he decided to try something different.
"This will take longer, but I have no choice," he muttered to himself. "I'll absorb using my left side and release using my right. This should stop the friction and pain."
It worked. The flow of mana on both sides was stable, though slower. Time blurred. Morning arrived, but to him, it felt like mere seconds had passed. He opened his eyes and looked at his hands. The power he held felt denser, stronger.
"Not bad. The other cores are barely halfway full, but I have this much mana already. I wonder what would happen if all of them were full… hm?"
He finally felt something heavy on his legs. He looked down and saw his beast, fully evolved.
"Whoa."
[Evolution successful.]