It was unexpected words that had come out from Xin's mouth for Gary honestly. For one, Jayden always seemed like this powerful figure who was above him, almost like a teacher. It was hard to imagine him having any type of trouble.
But, since Xin was concerned, he wanted to hear her out, more so than that, he would have been willing to help Jayden out as well if he asked for it.
"What's wrong?" Gary asked. "Isn't everything fine? I saw that he just recently entered the top 25 in the AFC. Hasn't he been doing really well?"
Gary had been keeping track of all of his fights. Going from top 50 to top 25 was quite a feat in the AFC, and Jayden had done so by continuously taking on fights.
There was a rule in the AFC, and that was that Altereds weren't allowed to use active skills or powers. They were allowed to use anything that their bodies transformed into, but that was it.
This gave a slight advantage to those who were more physically altered and relied on their bodies transforming. Yet, Jayden had gotten out of the rut he was in by using his pure skill and strength by studying and allowing his skills to grow to the next level.
"That's even more reason as to why I'm worried," Xin said. "Before, Jayden always used to have a happy face, even when fighting. There were at times when I would catch him looking down now and again... but I never knew the reason why."
"When I see him fight on the screen now, it's almost scary. I tried to get in contact with Jayden as well, but he's not replying to me."
Gary wondered why Jayden would do such a thing. He seemed to care about his sister dearly, and he would know that not getting in contact with Xin would worry her. The only thing Gary could think about was the last time he had met with Jayden.
'It was after that special lesson, where we all had to go up against him,' Gary smiled to himself but looked down so Xin didn't think he was smiling at the situation. 'He then visited me on the rooftop, back then it felt like he wanted to tell me something, but he just couldn't.'
'I wonder what it was that he wanted to tell me. He said he would do so when I was strong enough? Am I strong enough to help him now.'
Gary
Grade: Rook
Class: Dark Warrior
Level 33
[Health 300]
[Energy 500] (1000 during The Night)
[Strength 75]
[Dexterity 65]
[Endurance 68]
In the year that had gone past, Gary hadn't leveled up much. There weren't many opportunities where Gary could gain exp. At the same time, he didn't have many quests that would appear either. Just like in games, the higher Gary's level, the harder it was to level up due to the exp.
He still did his best to try to find opportunities when he could, which was why he had even increased in strength by this much. What was more apparent was his skills that he had gained, which had leveled up. He still had no idea what the cap a skill level could get to, but with each level up the effects of the skills improved greatly.
[Claw drain Level 3]
[Last stand: Level 1]
[Howling force: Level 1]
[Magnetic Howl: Level 1]
[Lethal Pounce: Level 1]
[Claw strike: Level 1]
Skills could be upgraded via pawn points, or it seemed like repeated use of a skill or a quest could also upgrade them. Since they could be upgraded from repeated use, it was hard for Gary to commit any pawn points to upgrading the skills, but he knew how valuable they were.
"Do you think there is a reason behind his strange actions?" Gary asked.
Xin shook her head. "I don't know much, but honestly, I was thinking that maybe my dad would know something. I was too young at the time, but there was a change around my brother at some point. He acted differently for an entire year. I don't know why, and my father won't tell me, but with your position, maybe you could find something out or try to contact him through other means."
It was worth a shot, and in Gary's mind, it was worth it if he could ease Xin's worry even for a bit.
"I'll try my best, but I can't make any promises. I will update you when I can; it will be easy to get in contact with you if you're one we sponsor." Gary winked.
Hearing this, Xin couldn't help but chuckle. "Since when were you such a good salesman? I will sign the contract. I'll be staying at the Mar Hotel while I'm here; you have my number, so get in touch when you need me."
Gary now had a task set out to do, and with everything being so peaceful, he didn't mind looking into it. Little did he know, at that moment, on the same day, something big was starting to go on in the city of Notsburg.
Bursting through the large red doors of the casino, a large man stood there with a red hood over his head.
"Hey, what are you doing making a commotion like that?" One of the gang members who worked as bodyguards at the casino said. He went towards the strange man to apprehend him. As he did, the intruder grabbed his arm and twisted it.
Then, with his other arm free, he slammed it down, breaking it on the spot and kicking him away.
Immediately, all of the guests were on high alert, and so were the other guards who had surrounded the individual.
"This has been a long time coming," the intruder said, his large smile and teeth visible just under his hood. "It's time to get rid of the Howlers!"
*****