Chapter 100: Going To Upgrade
Corrected version:
"If I have to be honest, no matter how conscious Dead Walkers become, they definitely won’t reach the level of human intelligence, not so soon at least. So the best chance for humans is to develop equipment and defenses that can save them.
Naturally, the other best option is getting stronger and keeping up in levels. Even if humans are one level lower on average than Dead Walkers, they could still fight them, given they have rare or epic weapons and spells."
Lukas told them what he believed to be the best way to survive.
In fact, if there really was a city surviving somewhere with lots of evolvers, then they might have already been working on it, given the pool of Knowledge Stones they must have gotten from all those evolvers working together.
Leah and Anna knew that this might be the way, but it didn’t decrease their fear since neither of these options seemed favorable for their base.
Getting even an uncommon weapon was considered lucky, so how would they get rare weapons, much less skills? Did they really have to learn to fight alone to get a better chance at obtaining drops?
The funny part was that neither of them even knew about it, and unless Lukas told them in their next meeting...
Lukas could see that they were deeply shaken, and it seemed that this was once again the best time to strike up the conversation he was interested in. After all, Leah was definitely the most affected right now.
"Leah... did Miss Anna know about what happened on the tree yesterday?"
Leah and Anna, who were thinking deeply about the future, came back to their senses. Leah’s cheeks turned slightly crimson, while Anna sighed inwardly as she figured out where this was going.
Anna had to admit that Lukas surely knew how to manipulate people softly. After seeing it firsthand, she could understand how Leah had been helpless yesterday. It was a dangerous trait indeed because, after hearing everything from him, instead of intervening to save her friend from falling into an inescapable net, she even felt the urge to tell her to accept the skill.
Anna shook her head internally and let things play out as they would. If Leah agreed, then it would be better for her and their team. If she didn’t, then she would live whatever life she had left guilt-free.
"Yes, she knows," Leah said in a low voice.
"That’s good then." Lukas smiled. "Miss Anna, tell me something. If Leon found out, would he consider it cheating or not?"
Leah’s eyes widened immediately.
"Y-you promised—"
"Chill, I am not exposing you. I am just asking what he would consider it. The love of his life sitting on another man’s lap, enjoying it so much that she got wet. Would he consider that cheating or not, Miss Anna?"
Leah trembled, and her eyes slightly moistened.
Anna felt bitter getting involved like this, and she even wanted to say no since it had happened due to circumstances. But if she gave the true answer, then it would definitely break Leon’s heart. In the end, she decided to tell the truth even if it hurt her best friend.
"It would..."
Leah gritted her teeth when she heard that, not because she felt betrayed, but because she also knew that Leon wouldn’t like that at all. That was why she had decided to hide it from him in the first place.
Lukas didn’t say anything else. He just wanted to push Leah, not accuse her. He would let her figure things out herself. She was a wise woman, and she would know that the sacred bond of her love life was already tainted, so sacrificing it to gain the most benefit for herself and her team might seem like the best option.
"Let’s move."
He started moving toward the sound he had heard, as he was close to completing his hunt.
Anna saw that Leah was thinking deeply, so she caught her hand and began pulling her along.
Leah walked absentmindedly while paying less attention to her surroundings.
Lukas kept killing the beasts, and soon he reached the required number of crystals to upgrade his bow and finally stretched himself.
"Let’s go by the lake and rest a little bit. I have completed my requirements."
The lake was very large, and they had walked quite a lot but had always stayed near the shore. The shore had sparse trees and was a nice place to even hold picnics.
Since Lukas had already shown the trick of taking things out of his inventory and even storing all the loot inside it, Leah and Anna had already figured out that he had some magical storage space, so it wouldn’t be strange for him to bring out some relaxing items.
This time, Leah came out of her stupor and took a deep breath. As Lukas moved a little farther away, she grabbed Anna’s hand a little tighter, making her stop.
"W-what should I do, Anna? Tell me what you think is the best option."
Anna shook her head and decided to tell her the truth.
"As your best friend, I would say accept that skill."
"I see..."
Leah nodded and began moving toward the lake, and Anna followed.
Anna could see that Leah had accepted it even before hearing her answer. Lukas was mysterious, but he was even more terrifying. Even knowing that what he was doing was wrong, it somehow didn’t seem like he was wrong at all. Just wow.
...
Lukas found a good spot and placed a large sheet on the ground, big enough for all of them. He sat down while looking toward the lake and placed his bow on the sheet in front of him.
’I wonder how it will consume them?’
As he was thinking, he felt Leah and Anna sitting down on his right side.
"You are going to upgrade it?" Anna asked as she was interested in seeing the process.
"Yes."
Lukas took out all the crystals.
Seeing a hundred crystals made Anna gulp slightly, as she needed only eight more to reach level three.
Well, she could always ask him to get her some, given the fact that she had helped him in some way.
