Chapter 185: A Small Adventure Begins
"I’ll head over to the Hunter Academy of the Endless Rain alone, I guess," Martin said to Angel, who had settled on the ground and was enjoying the fresh air of his forest academy.
She opened her eyes and looked up at him, her gaze bright with expectation.
"I know you want to go, but there’s no river to take us there. We can use one for a short stretch along the way and cover some distance midway through the journey, but until then, you’ll have to stay in your pocket dimension."
Angel narrowed her eyes at him.
She stared for a long moment, apparently deciding whether he had betrayed her or was simply being stupid, then turned her head away with a soft huff and withdrew into her shell.
Martin reached out to pat her, but the shell shifted away from his hand.
"...Seriously?" Martin asked.
There was no answer, only a stubborn turtle shell pretending he no longer existed.
Martin stared at the shell for another few seconds, waiting for Angel to give up the act and peek out again. She didn’t. Somehow, she managed to look even more offended without showing her face at all.
"You know, for a creature that can’t talk, you’re getting really good at making me feel guilty," Martin muttered.
The shell gave the tiniest shift, just enough to tell him she had heard him and chosen not to care.
"It’s fair, you know," Martin said with a sigh. "You’re slow on land."
The shell remained silent.
"Is it my fault you grew so fast and so big?"
Angel still didn’t respond, so Martin sighed again, this time heavier.
He needed to reach the new academy so he could sell the legendary sword to Just Die’s Guild Leader and buy himself proper equipment. This time, he planned to take the path most players eventually took. He would simply use real money to buy a new equipment set and weapons.
At some point, most players stopped pretending they were above swiping their cards. Martin had resisted that path for a while, mostly because being broke had made the decision for him, but things were different now. If he wanted to keep up with people like Just Die, Flash Fang, and the other monsters casually walking around this game, pride was not going to save him from getting flattened.
Rumor had it that real-money trading was even easier through the Auction House, which only made the place more popular. Players could search for specific items there too, so even a gloomy, rain-soaked academy ended up packed with traffic. Rain usually made people think of miserable things, but Martin had to admit the sound of it could be pretty soothing.
His mind, however, was too restless to enjoy the idea.
They all logged out at the same time... My attitude must have been horrible in the end.
The silence after everyone logged out bothered him more than he wanted to admit. There had been no jokes, no teasing, and no one staying behind to say one more thing. Just a clean, empty silence that left Martin alone with his thoughts.
And once he was alone with his thoughts, his brain did what it always did: it started stabbing him with every stupid thing he had said.
Maybe they had simply been tired. Maybe they had already planned to leave together. Maybe he was overthinking it because that was what he always did whenever things started going well. Those explanations were reasonable enough, but they felt a little too convenient, and the uglier possibility kept pushing its way to the front of his mind.
He might have made everything awkward, and everyone might have decided it was easier to leave than deal with him.
Martin hated how believable that sounded.
He had gotten much better near the end, all the way until everyone reached level sixty. Still, the simple fact that all his friends had logged out at the same time clung to him like a devil perched on his shoulder, whispering that he had fucked up, and badly at that.
Worse, there was no Angel on his other shoulder to balance it out. His actual Angel had just retreated into her shell.
"Well, I’ve got the whole day to think it through..." Martin muttered.
He patted Angel’s shell and told her he was going to send her to her pocket dimension. Angel let out a soft, begrudging squeal that sounded suspiciously like permission, so Martin accepted it as the green light.
After she disappeared, Martin set off on his adventure, though he didn’t even make it out of the academy before a system notification flashed before his eyes.
[Flash Fang: Hey, Martin. I have the whole day free. Are you going to the academy with the Auction House?]
[Emperoar: Yeah. Want to come with me?]
Martin’s mood lifted at once.
Man, I’m so happy he doesn’t see me as a weirdo. I have to pay him back even more!
[Flash Fang: Yes! Wait for me!]
Martin relaxed a lot more than he wanted to admit. He rolled his shoulders and prepared himself for some good bonding time with a new friend—and more importantly, someone his friend clearly trusted.
Now he only had to figure out what the hell they were supposed to talk about.
His real life had been trash until he started making it big in this game, but saying that out loud would probably make him sound like he was bragging. Or whining. Possibly both. Talking about his first days in the game world did not seem like a great idea either, especially considering how talented Flash Fang was.
But maybe that’s exactly what I should talk about...
He could keep it simple. He would ask Flash Fang about his old game, compliment his skills, and maybe talk about builds and equipment before dragging the conversation into anything too personal. Normal people probably did that. They eased into friendships instead of dumping their whole life story onto someone after one good party run.
Martin nodded to himself. Safe topics would come first. They could talk about the game, compare gear, and joke around if the timing felt natural. That sounded normal enough, which meant he only had to avoid making it weird.
Then Flash Fang called his name, and every carefully prepared topic vanished from his head.
"Martin!"
At the sound of Flash Fang’s voice, Martin turned around and searched the area, expecting to see the lean, sharp-eyed guy he had been imagining all this time.
Instead, he found a woman standing there.
Medium-length blonde hair framed a smooth, elegant face that looked almost too refined for someone called Flash Fang. Her features were soft without looking weak, delicate enough to seem approachable at first glance. Then her golden eyes met his from beneath long lashes, warm and bright, and Martin immediately knew she was not harmless at all.
Those were the eyes of someone who knew exactly what she was doing.
Her smile was gentle, almost apologetic, but there was confidence beneath it too. She looked like a woman who could smile sweetly while cutting someone down in a duel without blinking.
For a moment, Martin forgot what he had even been waiting for. Then his gaze dipped lower, taking in her slim, graceful figure, long legs, and light athletic build. Her chest was modest enough that, in a different outfit and from a distance, Martin could almost understand how he had made the mistake.
He could almost understand it, at least for a second.
Then she turned slightly, and the rest of her body destroyed that excuse. Her hips had a soft, feminine curve, and her ass was plump enough to make Martin’s thoughts slam straight into a wall.
Ah. So that’s where God put the balance.
She walked over to him, still wearing that soft smile, either completely unaware of what she had just done to his brain or fully aware and enjoying it.
Then the system finished loading her nameplate.
[Flash Fang Lv. 60]
Martin stared at it, then at her, then back at the nameplate while his brain made a small, dying noise.
What in the actual fuck?
"Yeah, sorry about that," Rias said, lifting one hand in a small, awkward wave. "I used to play professionally in a game where most of the scene was male. Letting people assume I was a guy made things easier, so I never bothered correcting it."
She gave him a careful smile, then added, "I didn’t expect it to turn into... whatever this turned into."
Her tone was light, but her words alone told Martin that everyone really had figured him out.
He covered his face and looked down.
"...I don’t know what’s worse: everyone seeing through me, or me mistaking such a beautiful woman for a man..." Martin muttered.
Rias’ expression softened with amusement. "Thanks, but you should probably save the compliments."
"Why?"
"Because I’m not giving you any more hints." Rias chuckled and walked past him.
Martin followed her automatically, but then his eyes betrayed him before his brain could stop them. He glanced down, froze, and facepalmed so hard it almost hurt.
No. No way. I spent the whole time thinking Flash Fang was a guy? With that face? With that walk? With that ass?
I am an absolute clown!
"Are you coming, Martin?" Rias asked, looking over her shoulder.
Her expression had changed slightly. It was still sweet, but now there was a faint trace of amusement in it, enough to make Martin strongly suspect she knew exactly where his eyes had gone.
He straightened like a soldier caught sleeping on duty.
"Yeah!"
He sped up after her.
"Am I forgiven for the misunderstanding?" Rias asked.
"Of course," Martin nodded.
How can I hate someone with such a beautiful ass?
But deep down, he knew the important thing was that Flash Fang really could have been a guy. His jealousy would have been just as ugly either way, and it was better that he deal with it sooner rather than later.
Even better, the so-called guy had turned out to be such a hot woman.
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