The crowd around the Kraken had yet to disperse. The people were still curious about what was taking place, and at the same time, the guards were starting to get concerned themselves. They wondered if they should just barge in, especially since there had been no noise for a while. All fighting had stopped. They had been told that only a handful of teenagers had entered. Those inside should have long since dealt with the troublemakers and resumed business, so what was taking so long?
That was when, eventually, the doors to the establishment opened, and standing in front of them all was Olivia Pearl.
“Oh, I didn’t expect there to be such a large crowd of people here? Are all the other restaurants filled to the brim?” Olivia questioned with a smirk. She was wearing the same outfit she had done, and also cleared up whatever markings there were on her body. There was initially a lump on the back of her head, but the swelling on it soon seemed to go away, when it normally wouldn’t have done so quickly.
So those that were seeing her believed that she was the same as she had always been.
Seeing who had come out, though, Nini, felt herself sulking.
‘I knew it… those guys couldn’t do anything, That damned big guy was just all talk… I just hope they didn't, they didn’t… ’
In the middle of her thoughts, the teenage girl saw the group that had entered with the gold and black blazers leave the establishment. They walked straight past Olivia, and the guards looked at them with menacing glances, confused at what was happening. A group of them looked like they were ready to move and jump them.
“Let them go!” Olivia snapped before anyone could move. “Everyone, the show is over. The Kraken will reopen this evening, until then please enjoy your meal elsewhere. Guards tell the managers that all of them are to gather at the Kraken in thirty minutes. Spread the news, and apologise to our dear customers.”
The guards didn’t move at first, until Olivia stomped her foot on the ground.
“Are you deaf? What do I pay you for? Get back to your workplace and do as you’ve been told!” She shouted, and soon everyone got a move on.
There was blood covering the clothes of those that had left the place. It was hard to imagine what had occurred inside, and it left many confused. In the meantime, Olivia had a lot of work to do. There was a lot to clean up, and she had to spread the news that the Pincers had been taken over by the Howlers.
The current workers of the establishment were left in the dark, but they too would soon be informed of the changes, especially to their night time activities.
——
The group had finally reached the bus stop, Gary had removed the mask from his face and placed it into his side again, and sat at the bus stop, slumping his body, while the others did the same.
“Did all of that just really happen? … Did we actually just manage to take over a gang?” Marie asked.
Each one of them was looking through the glass above and at the clouds floating by. It had been an hour or so since they had entered the establishment, and then another hour to clear things up, so it still wasn’t evening outside, and the sky was blue today.
“We did.” Kai answered, lifting his hand up. “It looks like I created a lot of work for myself, but I thought this would happen, and after today, you might start to hear our name being spread around a lot more.”
“Does this mean my money problems are finally over?” Gary asked.
Everyone chuckled, as that seemed to be the only thing on the mind of their leader.
“I’ll have to look at our finances after this, but I can safely say you won’t have to worry about your personal expenses at least. However, remember as the gang gets bigger there are more costs, more people to pay, and this is just a Tier-3 town We are still ways off from being anywhere near the top of the food chain.”
Gary knew that the ones in control of Slough were the Underdogs and Grey Elephants, and both of them had their reasons to hunt him. Although he couldn’t bring Stacy back from the dead, he could focus on protecting others from this mess from now on.
‘I couldn’t have done it without you, system.’ Gary smiled as he decided to look at his Quest reward.
[Congratulations! You have set a new world record for surviving stab wounds.
Keep it up, and you’ll be able to hug a cactus without a second thought.]
[Endurance +2]
[Quest reward: Instant Level Up]
[Congratulations, you have now reached: Level 16]
[A stat point has been granted]
[Optional Quest (Start your own family) complete]
[Quest reward: 1 Pawn Point]
[Depending on the Grade of the Werewolf added to the family, more Pawn Points will be given]
During the constant notifications, Gary had somehow managed to miss that he had completed a Quest that was given to him when he first had realised he had turned Billy. It was a new way to gain Pawn Points that seemed to be the most precious of them all.
Still, it wasn’t an easy way, but at least easier than killing other Werewolves. Still, Gary focused on the other things as well.
‘… figures, just when I compliment you, you try to put me down. Alright, if you really want to keep up this strange relationship with me, that’s fine with me…’ Gary thought as he inwardly rolled his eyes. ‘It's a shame that I didn’t get the extra stat point for making Olivia a hunting target, but it looks like I got better things.’
Reading the message from the system, it did put things into perspective. Fighting against a gang, even if it was just small-time, there was a far bigger risk than Gary had initially thought. The teenager had believed that with his Werewolf form and current skill set, they should have been able to take on the Pincers, but the truth was without the Last Stand skill, he might have died today.
Fortunately, everything had turned out well and he had received good rewards from the system. His stats had even balanced out once again.
[Name: Gary Dem]
[Class: Warrior]
[State: Human (Alpha)]
[Grade: Knight]
[Level 16]
[Exp 796/3002]
[Health: 100/100]
[Energy: 42/300]
[Strength 18]
[Dexterity 18]
[Endurance 18]
[1 stat point unassigned]
[1 Pawn Point available]
‘Stats, Skills, Health, Energy, I really need to improve them all… and then I also might have to look into getting my Grade up as well. I have a feeling the system didn’t explain all the benefits of going up a grade.I could use some of those from the Pincers that tried to stab me… but it still feels wrong to me. For now, let’s see what exactly those title benefits include.’
[Title: Alpha Werewolf of the Howlers Pack]
[…]