Throughout the conversation between Evelyn and Carlo about Evelyn's father, I didn't learn anything new.
Sowhat Evelyn was reluctant to talk about her father as if she was guarding a secret or trying to conceal certain aspects of their relationship. Carlo's probing questions hinted at an underlying tension, but Evelyn's responses remained vague and evasive.
Despite my curiosity, I didn't press further into Evelyn's patterns. It was clear that she wasn't comfortable discussing her father, and I respected her privacy. However, her guarded deanour only piqued my interest further, leaving wondering about the true nature of her relationship with her father and the reasons behind her reluctance to talk about him.
As the conversation shifted to more neutral topics, I couldn't shake off the lingering sense of intrigue surrounding Evelyn's family situation. It was a puzzle, one that I couldn't help but feel compelled to solve, even though I knew it wasn't my place to pry into her personal affairs.
"Ah, sorry, I'm done now."
At that mont, Sia ca back.
"Anyways, Carlo, what's our next schedule?"
Sia's voice seed sowhat sharp.
Sia's abrupt return and her sharp tone caught my attention, breaking the tension of the mont. It was clear that sothing was amiss, and her sudden change in deanour only added to the growing sense of unease that hung in the air.
***
The next task on the Guild Experience Program was deploynt.
A deploynt referred to Heroes intercepting monsters that invaded civilian territory.
However, such occurrences were rare in Seoul, so we took a Portal to Grace of the Lycon branch, which is very far away from the Eldoria main branch, where several deploynts happened every day.
"Carlo is here. I just arrived in Lycon [1] If there's an incident nearby, let know first. Ah, I have cadets with , so anything above interdiate rank [C] will be difficult."
Carlo let the branch know that we arrived, then turned towards us. With a big smile, he spoke.
"While we wait for the deploynt order to co, let's eat. I know a good restaurant nearby."
Carlo then led us to a fancy, traditional restaurant nearby.
"Four people, please."
We were led inside by an employee. While we were waiting for our food to co, Carlo glanced at and asked.
"Cadet Lucas, how tall are you?"
"? I'm 183."
Chae Nayun then cut in.
"So not that different from ."
"What? I'm a lot taller than you. You're 171."
Evelyn was 171.3 exactly.
"...What."
It was sothing I said thoughtlessly but Evelyn made a strange expression in response. She narrowed her eyes, then asked.
"How do you know how tall I am?"
Hearing that, I froze. There really was no explainable reason for to have her height morized, not unless I was a stalker. I only blurted out thoughtlessly because I'd seen it written sowhere, but I couldn't reveal that without raising more suspicion. Instead, I tried to play it off casually.
"Oh, um, I think I rember you ntioning it before," I replied, trying to keep my tone light. "During one of our previous conversations."
Evelyn's gaze lingered on for a mont, her expression unreadable. For a mont, I worried that she might see through my flimsy excuse, but thankfully, she seed to accept it without further questioning.
"Ah, I see," she said with a small nod, her tone neutral. "Must have slipped my mind."
Carlo, sensing the tension in the air, quickly changed the subject.
"So, Lucas, Evelyn, what do you think of the Guild Experience Program so far?" he asked, flashing us a friendly smile.
I took the opportunity to shift the focus away from the awkward mont, grateful for the chance to steer the conversation in a more comfortable direction.
"It's been really insightful," I replied, eager to share my thoughts. "Getting to see firsthand how the guild operates and being able to learn from experienced Heroes like you and Sia has been incredibly valuable."
Evelyn nodded in agreent, her expression softening as she chid in. "Yeah, I've learned a lot too. It's definitely been an eye-opening experience."
Carlo nodded, seemingly satisfied with our responses. "I'm glad to hear that. The Guild Experience Program is designed to give cadets like yourselves a taste of what it's like to be a Hero. It's a challenging path, but a rewarding one."
At that mont food arrived, I looked towards the food with anticipation, eager to dig in and enjoy the al after the tense mont earlier. The aroma of the dishes wafted through the air, tantalizing my senses and reminding of just how hungry I was.
As we began to eat, the atmosphere around the table lightened, and the previous tension seed to dissipate with each bite. The food was delicious.
Despite the earlier awkwardness, I found myself enjoying the company of my fellow cadets and Carlo.
In any case, while we were continuing with our al... a voice rang out from Carlo smartwatch.
—Deploynt order for high-interdiate rank Hero, Park Sangho. The coordinate is...
"Let's go."
Sia said as she got up in the middle of eating. Carlo, Evelyn, and I quickly followed after her.
After running out of the restaurant without even paying, Sia kicked off the ground and stord forth. Carlo and Evelyn chased after her similarly.
As we hurried to keep up with Sia, a sense of urgency washed over . The sudden deploynt order signaled that there was trouble brewing, and we needed to act quickly to address it. My heart raced as we raced through the streets, the adrenaline pumping through my veins.
As we reached the designated coordinates, we found ourselves faced with a chaotic scene. A horde of monstrous golems had invaded the area, terrorizing civilians and wreaking havoc on the city streets. Without hesitation, Sia leaped into action, leading the charge against the monsters with Carlo and Evelyn close behind.
Evelyn continue to fire the electric arrow from her bow as she continues to kilo each golem.
Golems just blast away as soon as the arrow hit them.
Looking at her i couldn't help but admit that Evelyn gotten stronger, a lot stronger then before.
The golem were [D-] rank and it's difficult to distroy them, maybe she is using an [Bow Art].
Her mana must depleting quickly too.
A new golem was approaching Emma.
The golem was short, being about 2.2 ters tall, making it look sowhat humanlike.
Evelyn put her bow down and pulled her dagger out. She seed to be thinking that she could take it on with her dagger since it was short for a golem.
However, listone golems had a special ability that differentiated them from other golems – self-compression.
The smaller they were, the studier and stronger they got.
Koong—!
Evelyn's dagger clashed with the listone golem's fist, listone dust scattering into the air.
Evelyn fought normally. After parrying the golem's fist to the side, she aid for the listone golem's weak point, its ankle.
However, the listone golem responded to her attack smartly, kicking Evelyn with its foot, an uncommon attack for a golem to make.
"Uk!"
Evelyn was covered in a qi reinforcent, but it was a golem's attack. Evelyn fell back, grabbing her stomach with her hand.
The listone golem didn't give her any ti to rest. It bolted towards her in a flash, then slamd its fist down on her head. Evelyn froze, struck by her fear of close-ranged combat and taken aback by her lack of combat experience.
When the golem's fist was about to make contact with Evelyn... sothing grabbed her by the waist.
It took a mont to realize that it was... Shadow, By instinct my, Myshadow grabbed Evelyn waist
Then pulled her towards . It must have read my mind, which was screaming, 'I need to help her—'.
"...."
Before I could fully comprehend what happened, I found Evelyn in my embrace. I stared down at her silently.
To be completely honest, I had a brain lag.
My shadow... did the right thing. If Evelyn got hit, she would have been critically injured. It was just that... My shadow did things a bit awkwardly.
—Gulp.
Evelyn swallowed hard.
Feeling like I had to say sothing, I did.
"Are you alright, Evelyn?" I asked, my voice filled with concern as I held her close. "That was a close call."
Evelyn nodded, her expression a mix of surprise and gratitude. "Y-Yeah, thanks to you... and your shadow."
"Oh that? It's just skill of mine don't worry."
Evelyn just silently nodded her head.
Relieved that Evelyn was unhard, I gently released her from my embrace, though my shadow still hovered protectively nearby.
"Sorry about that," I said sheepishly, feeling a bit awkward about the whole situation. "My shadow tends to act on its own sotis, especially in monts of danger."
Evelyn gave a small smile, her eyes softening with understanding. "It's okay, Lucas. I appreciate your quick thinking back there. Thank you for saving ."
With the imdiate danger passed, we turned our attention back to the ongoing battle against the golems. Sia, Carlo, and Evelyn resud their attacks, focusing on taking down the remaining creatures and protecting the civilians caught in the crossfire.
As the battle raged on, I couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude for the opportunity to work alongside such skilled and courageous Heroes. Despite the challenges we faced, we stood together as a team, united in our goal to protect the city and its inhabitants from harm.
With each passing mont, I grew more determined to beco a Hero worthy of standing beside them, ready to face whatever challenges the future held. And as we fought side by side, I knew that no matter what obstacles we encountered, we would overco them together.
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