With Izzy suddenly pleading their case with such fervour, Gary was left speechless. He didn’t really know what to say. He had half processed what they were saying, but at the same time didn't really understand.
“First of all, can you guys please get off the floor? It makes me feel uncomfortable when you act like that. We're the same age, and I'm just a student like you guys. Heck, technically all of us are still just student candidates for the AFA.” Gary said, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Lifting their heads off the floor, all of them had eager faces since the green haired teenager had not yet refused their request. He was certain that Izzy was putting on a pair of large puppy eyes, which made things extra hard on him, and just made him want to look away.
“Gary, it took a lot for us to ask that of you.” Ian confessed. “It’s nice of you to say we're the same, but let’s be honest, it’s obvious we’re not. Take a look at the number on your badge, and then take a look at the number on ours. If we do things our way, it might take us months or years to reach your level.
“Do you think anyone can just challenge someone like Sty? I mean, look at what happened to Numba!”
“Watch it.” The Goat Altered retorted and punched Ian on the shoulder. “I might have lost, but at least I fought against one of the top rankers. I stood my ground.”
“Look, that might be noble or whatever you guys tell yourselves, but the whole point of this place is to reach the top and stay there for a week. Right now, we can’t do that… because we're weaker than them.” Izzy sighed. “Gary, we want to form an alliance. Not just between us, but our families as well.
“It's the only thing families like ours can do in a place like this.”
Gary started to pace backwards and forwards in his room… It was something he often did when trying to think properly, but the problem was he couldn’t really grasp what was being offered.
“Can you explain this to me like I’m five?” Gary asked in slight embarrassment. The idea itself didn't sound bad to him. Kai did tell him to try to attract more business and so to Slough, or perhaps even find opportunities to expand, and it might be what he needed. “Is it really alright for you guys to make that type of promise without speaking to your family beforehand?
“Sorry, I forgot that you’re backed by a gang, and that things work differently for you. Our families invested into us becoming Altered, sending us here in the hopes that we would meet other great people and form relationships with them.
“While a gang in a Tier-3 town might not be all that great, all of us are convinced that in the future you will become a great person, and we want to help you achieve that potential. As the futures of our respective families, we have the power to help you, even if it might be somewhat limited at first. Once we prove ourselves though, we’ll be able to do more for you!” Izzy placed her hand out, trying to get Gary to shake it, but the Werewolf was still looking at it with caution.
‘I have some open Marks, so perhaps I should enter a bond with her. At least that way, I would know in case she tries to betray me in the future, though she seems to be serious about her current offer.’
“I’ll be honest, Gary.” Numba said. “You know I don't trust anyone, and it's the same for my family. I might have to place a meeting between mine and yours, but I promise that for what you have done I will have your back, in return for having mine.
“Just like in that assessment, we can do this together as well.” Numba put his hand out as well, and seeing this Ian soon followed with all three of them placing their hands out.
Scratching the back of his head, Gary eventually put both of his hands out,
“I can't shake all three of your hands at once. Of course, I’ll teach you, and this can be the start of our alliance.” Gary said with a smile.
———
The training began that day, more specifically at nighttime. Given Gary’s new priviliges, he brought the three of them along to a private training room. That way no one could see what they were doing. His Energy was around the halfway mark, but that wasn’t much of a concern. The Werewolf was already looking forward to breakfast since he could now order as much food as he liked, something he planned to put to very good use.
Inside the training room, the first thing Gary did was have the three show off what they were capable off. In a way, it reminded him of the days when he would wach and analyse Altered fighters on the TV, only now he would be the one to actively give them pointers.
The three Altered looked a bit tired after showing off, and that's when Gary started to walk forward to each of them.
“Alright, I’ve seen enough. There are few things that we should do to make you improve at the fastest speed. Truth be told, I don't plan to stay here longer than I need to, so that gives us around a week.
“The quickest way to improve will be to focus on your respective strengths, since we lack the time to effectively combat your weaknesses. I want you guys to think about what your strengths are. This will be important for your next task.”
Gary’s arms started to transform, and he got into a fighting stance himself.
“There is one thing that all of you lack, and that is experience. The experience of fighting with your life on the line. Remember what I said, so let's try to kill two birds with one stone! All of you fight me at once!” Gary started running forward as he looked over his Status.
[Exp 3788/5302]
‘Defeating Sty resulted in a nice Exp boost. Let’s see if fighting them might also net me some Exp. If so, I might get something out of our training as well, and get one step closer to Level Up.’
———
The next day was special for more than one reason. Not only was it the day the assessment would take place, but today was the last day the top rankers had to hold on to their rank to be allowed to advance, so many were expecting for things to get quite interesting…
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