Gary was hesitating on whether he should accept Blake’s offer. Billy was his responsibility, and he hated the thought that his friends might get involved. The fact that the Omega wolf had attacked them still haunted the teenager, especially since it had boiled down to dumb luck that none of them had gotten killed that night.
However, Blake was different from the rest. In the first place, he was an Altered Hunter, belonging to a group of people who risked their lives to kill Altered on the daily. Even if he were to refuse, chances were that Blake and his father would be looking out for Billy anyway.
‘But is working with an Altered Hunter really the best thing? I can trust Blake, can’t I?’ Gary wondered. ‘He did let me go that night, even though I was too injured and too weak to resist. He could have easily killed me… well, I guess he could always tell his father about me if he wanted to…’’
That was when a certain idea popped in his head. Instead of worrying about things he couldn’t control, why not make use of his system? At least that way, the teenager would get a warning if his trust turned out to have been misplaced.
“You’re right, the two of us stand a much better chance to take down Billy together. However, I have one condition. I want you to promise me that you won’t try to kill me.” Gary requested as he held out his hand for a handshake.
Strangely, Blake was now the one who hesitated and thought things through. However, in the end, he shook the other teenager’s hand.
“Seems fair… I promise I won’t try to kill you.” Blake answered, yet remained careful with his words. Although he might not make an attempt on his life, he couldn’t promise that others wouldn’t.
[A spoken deal has been made, would you like to Mark “Blake Hunt”?]
[Yes]
[5/5 Marks have been assigned]
[Please reach a higher level to increase the number of available Marks]
‘Oh! So that’s how I can get more Marks.’
Gary was pleased to find out that information. The high schooler had kept one Mark free, just in case he needed to make a bond with anyone else he cared about. Of course, it could have also been used to initiate a Forced Bond with anyone he might have needed to track down in the future.
Fortunately, he had already created a Bond Mark with those close to him, and this promise with Blake also had another nice benefit. With the additional 10 Exp he would gain, it would only require Gary to finish one of his Daily Quests tomorrow to reach Level 9.
‘Maybe then I will finally gain that Iron Body skill I saw a while ago. It might be too much to ask to give me more Marks to assign that early, but possibly Level 10 will do the trick. It seems special enough, seeing as the System called it a Main Quest.’
“However, do you mind if we start looking for Billy tomorrow?” Gary asked Blake. “I still need to get some things sorted out today.” As much as he wanted to take down the Omega wolf, that extra stat point he would get tomorrow might end up playing a vital role.
“Not at all.” Blake shook his head. “It’s going to take me a couple of days before I can gather the things I require anyway. Just to let you know, but we probably only get one shot at this. Honestly, I don’t like doing this stuff behind my Dad’s back. If it doesn’t work out, or it turns out to be too dangerous, we should leave it.
“Worst case, I can just pretend to have found him on my own, without mentioning you. With all the leads, he will probably be able to take care of it.”
Gary nodded, although he didn’t completely agree to the deal. He wanted to make sure Billy was truly gone, rather than leaving it in the hands of others. As long as the Quest was still there, he was sure the Omega wolf would be after him.
The two split their ways, and Gary now had a new contact in his phone, Blake, adding it to his small list of numbers. Seeing the number, the green haired teenager considered inviting Blake to the pool club. Kai did say that they should invite their classmates since it was a business after all, and if they were working together, it wouldn’t be bad for their relationship to be closer.
‘Maybe after all that Billy stuff is taken care of.’ Gary thought, not wanting to stop his friend from making the preparation he had talked about.
Coming back from that break, classes continued as usual, until it was time for them to go to their club activities. Right now, Gary and even Tom were on the field. Ever since the last match where substitutes had been used, Mr Root had started involving them more in practice, just in case another similar incident was to occur.
“Say, do you plan to do more Werewolf stuff later? Since we know you can control it now, it might not hurt testing out your limits and such.” Tom suggested, while pretending to kick a ball.
“Ah, actually I’m busy… Hey, how about you just come along after club practice instead?” Gary had been about to decline his best friend’s suggestion, but then he offered to take him along. “I recently got another part-time job. The atmosphere is relaxing, and you actually already know the others. It shouldn’t be a problem, and it will let you see what I’m doing. Stay there for as long as you like, or leave if it’s not your thing.”
Tom couldn’t quite believe his ears, Gary was actually inviting him to his job. Thinking about this he gulped slightly wondering what it could be, but if his best friend was inviting him it had to be safe… right?
He didn’t want to further distance himself from Tom, who had always been helping him out. After their first day of business, Gary didn’t have to worry about them talking about any gang stuff, simply because they would be far too busy taking care of things in the Wolf’s Pool Club. As such, it became nothing more than a hang-out place, so there was no reason to keep that a secret from his best friend.
“Sure, that would be great!” Tom agreed enthusiastically.
When practice was over, Tom, Gary, and Innu were all waiting outside the school gate. Gary had explained to Tom that all of them worked at the same place, so they were all currently waiting for Kai, Who from Tom’s knowledge was the one with connections to the place.
Tom didn’t really like that Gary was hanging around Kai and the others, especially since he was still under the assumption his best friend had gone gambling with them. He was simply worried that they might influence him to do other, potentially worse things. However, he also hadn’t forgotten that without them, he might have ended up as a snack for the other Werewolf he had initially mistaken to be Gary.
“Customer or another pair of helping hands?!” Kai asked teasingly, as he waved over and joined the three boys.
“Where’s Marie?” Innu asked, noticing that their upperclassman was on his own.
“Ah, she didn’t go to the club. As far as the school knows, she’s gotten injured recently, making her unable to participate in club activities for a while, so she gets to leave earlier than the rest of us. In other words, she should already be there.” Kai answered.
Thinking of Marie, Gary’s face was feeling a little hot as he recalled yesterday’s conversation. Rather than enjoy her free time, she was diligently going to the pool club and working hard. In fact, as he thought about it, Marie had diligently been working while everyone else was cleaning. The high school girl hadn’t even taken a single break herself, working at the cash registry and the bar simultaneously.
In the end, the group started to walk together, and Tom couldn’t stop asking questions about the place. Luckily, after Gary had answered the initial questions, Kai had taken over and had answered all concerns that Tom seemed to have had.
“I can’t believe you’re working at a place called the Wolf’s Pool Club, of all things.” Tom said while glancing at Gary. This didn’t go unnoticed by Kai, who made a mental note that he might not be the only one to know the green haired teenager’s secret.
“Relax, man, it’s just a normal pool club!” Innu finally said, placing his arm around Tom. The two of them were more comfortable with each other since they were in the same class and seat neighbours. “Your boy is okay, you don’t have to worry, and none of us are going to get in trouble. It’s one of those under the table things. As long as no one reports it, nobody gets hurt and we all profit.”
When they finally arrived at the place, the door was left wide open, which seemed unusual, and not just because it was supposed to keep the heat in. All the boys hurried their steps and as they entered the pool club they couldn’t believe their eyes.
“What the f*ck? Who did this?!” Innu shouted, as he looked around for a perpetrator.