(Meanwhile PinkLotus and Luke)
PinkLotus wasn't accustomed to having company alongside her within the game world, however, with Luke deciding to quit the DarkSky guild, she offered to help him for a few days, until he found his purpose again.
It was only a casual offer and she did not really expect Luke to take it when she suggested it, however, to her surprise he did.
He accepted her offer and joined her near her training location in the deep forest, where he mostly focused on hunting nearby animals, while PinkLotus continued with her reflex training.
Occasionally, the two of them would meet during their breaks and share a small conversation, but it was mostly just small talk and nothing meaningful.
"So is this how you spend your days gaming? Just slicing away at water droplets?" Luke enquired, as PinkLotus chuckled nervously in response.
"Yeah. I'm trying to improve my reflexes, your brother, he's ridiculously fast" PinkLotus replied, as Luke nodded as if it were only natural.
"My brother is indeed naturally gifted when it comes to reflexes.
He is absent minded at times, but even back on Earth if he accidentally dropped a work tool, or stumbled and was on the verge of falling, he would recover with unbelievable speed, doing things that look almost superhuman-like.
The explosive speed and fast reflexes are natural for him, which is why the Assassin class suits him so well" Luke said, as he talked about Leo with pride evident on his face.
"Gosh, I can't believe how different the two of you are– you are such a gentleman, so refined, polite. Even when you talk you are so calm and your voice is soothing, however, your brother is such an irritating personality, it's hard to believe you two are related" PinkLotus complained, as Luke chuckled with joy.
"He's actually the sweetest individual in the family. It's just that he's not kind to strangers.
For Leo, the distinction for people is as simple as family and the rest.
If you're family or like family to him, he will die for you.
If not, he will not spare you a glance" Luke explained, as PinkLotus shook her head in disappointment.
"I want to get along with him so bad….. the way he treats that Amanda girl, I get jealous at times.
Not because I like him romantically or anything, but just because of how kind he is to her.
He's the ideal bad guy that every girl wishes to tame.
Cool, black assassin type guy who is cold to the world but lovey dovey to the one person he loves.
It's like the perfect combination!
But only for the one woman he loves, to everyone else he's a jackass" PinkLotus said excitedly, as she shared her true opinion about Leo.
"Hahaha! Well, I don't think Leo has eyes for any other woman but Amanda…. So the only way he will ever accept you as family is if you become his sister in law" Luke joked, however, PinkLotus was stunned to silence by his remark.
"But to become his sister in law wouldn't I have to date you?" She asked, as it was only then that Luke realized the implications of the words that he just spoke.
Blushing, he tried to clarify rapidly, but his haste only made him stumble through his sentence without making any sense.
"Well, no, that's not what I meant, I was just making a general statement, gosh, I'm so sorry, please don't be offended—" Luke said, waving his hands in apology, as PinkLotus burst out in laughter.
"Haha, sometimes I can't understand you, Luke Skyshard.
At times you have the look in your eyes that most other guys have when they look at me…. The dreamy look that tells me that they like me.
But you never act on it, always keep a respectful distance and at times you look at me as nothing more than a friend which makes me feel safe around you.
For now, I'm not interested in becoming anyone's sister in law, or 'girlfriend' for that matter, but I will surely not date a man weaker than myself.
So if you do plan on impressing me someday mister, I suggest you work hard on beating me in a spar–" PinkLotus said, as she playfully handed Luke a roadmap to her heart.
"What? Cat got your tongue? Did you think you're the only one who can make a joke?" PinkLotus teased, as she chuckled and moved away.
"Break time is over, see you around, brother in law" PinkLotus said, as she returned to her training rock and began slashing the waterfall, leaving Luke behind to handle his flush red face.
When he met PinkLotus for the first time, Luke did not assume that she would have such a playful side to her.
However, the more the two of them spent time together, the more the comfort between them grew, which felt like an oddly comforting sensation to Luke.
'To win her heart I have to beat her in a spar, yeah?' Luke wondered, as although he had never really thought about dating PinkLotus up till now, because the thought was now planted in his head, he began to seriously consider it now.
"Very well, to beat a master I have to become a master. So I'll consider this to be an additional motivator for my training" Luke muttered to himself as he swiftly left the spot he was sitting and headed into the forest to find new hunting/ training targets.
He was making rapid strides towards becoming a master, however, as things stood he was still 6 months away from becoming one at the least.
At this pace, PinkLotus was sure to get much stronger than him in the coming months, the gap between them only widening as she improved with her solo training, so if he wanted to catch up to her, he really needed to make rapid strides now, for otherwise it would soon become impossible.