Chapter 79: Promoted to Lv3, Stalker
’Of course that’s what happened’, Elena thought, with the confidence of soone who had just solved a puzzle.
He said he lost a bet, obviously gambling.
Said he missed a twenty percent chance, obviously the odds of winning were one in five, and he’d missed them.
Said he cut his own hand off, obviously he’d gone all in, lost everything, couldn’t repay the debt, and so gang enforcer had put a gun to his head and made him do it.
Being chased down afterward, obviously the creditors coming to collect.
Nothing left to take, obviously strip him, beat him, dump him in an alley.
Elena felt quite certain she had arrived at the truth.
Raphael watched her looking extrely pleased with herself and decided to let her keep the theory. Given his current situation, he had more pressing things to address.
"I want to make a deal with you. I won’t stay long, but I need sowhere to be for now. Once I have money, I’ll leave."
Elena stared at him.
"Excuse , I never agreed to take you in. You’re leaving tomorrow! Or I’m calling the police."
Raphael looked at her clothes while he thought.
High-quality silk. A white-gold belt with KV engraved on the clasp. A jade necklace, unfamiliar brand, but expensive, clearly expensive.
He reached a conclusion: this girl might be renting a room on her own, but her family had money. Real money.
Offering cash as compensation, then, wouldn’t an much. What else was there?
Elena noticed him staring and hunched her shoulders, covering her chest with both hands, irritation creeping into her voice.
"What, what are you looking at? Never seen soone attractive before?
I’m warning you, don’t get any ideas, if you try anything I will have soone here to deal with you so fast."
Raphael turned his old profession over in his mind and decided it was the most useful thing he had to offer in exchange for a temporary place to stay.
"Is there anyone you want killed?"
He was outside IFSA now. Outside the system entirely. No obligation to follow procedure.
Elena made a sound that wasn’t quite a word. Her voice jumped about three registers.
"You — you? what are you!
I’m warning you, we live in a society with laws, you can’t just go around, you will go to prison."
Raphael didn’t explain himself. He just looked at her. His expression was steady, unhurried, and the scar across his brow contributed aningfully to the overall impression that this was not a man with a gentle history.
A long pause. Elena turned it over three tis.
"...Killing soone is definitely off the table."
She said finally.
"But if you genuinely have nowhere to go, I will, out of the great generosity of my heart, allow you to stay for three days.
After that you’re out unless you complete a task for . As for paynt, you don’t look like you have money, so.
How about this. Help
deal with soone. What do you think?"
She imdiately added a follow-up, in case this strange man took her aning the wrong way.
"Not kill him. Just rough him up a bit, warn him off, scare him away. By whatever thod you like, as long as you don’t go too far."
Raphael nodded.
Elena organized her thoughts and explained.
"Ever since I moved here, there’s been this man who keeps appearing near . Mask on, hood up, very creepy vibe, always carrying a cara.
Every ti I’m out sowhere I’ll catch him in a corner staring at
and shooting photos. If I try to go confront him he runs off imdiately."
Raphael listened.
"A stalker?"
Elena nodded hard.
"I think so. The way he looks at
is disgusting, like sothing slimy crawling on your skin. I haven’t worn a skirt since I noticed him. I’m terrified of what he’d photograph if the wind caught it."
Raphael considered this.
"I’ll follow you when you go out. Temporary bodyguard, essentially. Once we locate him, I’ll give him an... educational experience. The kind that removes his interest in this particular hobby."
Elena looked at him. He didn’t look like a good person. But he looked extrely capable of physical violence, which was what the situation called for.
They spent another fifteen minutes or so settling the details of the arrangent. By the end of it Elena was yawning openly, hand over her mouth.
"...I’m exhausted. I’m going to sleep. You, behave yourself. Don’t try anything."
She retreated into the bedroom, locked the door behind her, and was asleep almost imdiately.
Tonight had genuinely worn her out.
Raphael let his gaze settle and closed his eyes, running through the planning.
Short term: find the stalker, secure a place to stay, deal with the Brotherhood assassins.
dium term: find appropriate work for soone of his particular skill set, earn enough to equip himself properly, then travel to the 22nd District to find Eva, regroup, determine next steps.
Long term: locate Vigo, contain her, follow the three threads, untangle Evelyn’s knot, bring her back.
Then a sensation moved through him, like clearing a blocked nose with a large quantity of peppermint, the whole system opening up at once, sothing invisible dissolving.
[Mutation complete.]
[Current Level: Lv3.]
[Current Sin: 6.96 / 160.]
[Mutations available: 2.]
"There it is."
He exhaled slowly and thought about where to put the points.
The obvious answer had been to keep pushing Physical Functions, get it to Lv5, which would an Lv10 in Blood Frenzy.
Genuinely terrifying output.
But the problem was that the Flesh Bishop’s mutation skills were gone.
The Scapegoat ability had consud Jason Lance, and with him, Corporeal Reformation. The ability that had let him get cut in half, get bisected at the waist, get split into three pieces, and reassemble each ti.
Without it, his margin for error had collapsed entirely.
He still had vampire regeneration, yes. But healing fast didn’t help if the body was paper. Getting decapitated without Corporeal Reformation ant staying decapitated. That was a aningful change in circumstances.
Magic resistance wasn’t the priority, at his current level, going against high-tier witches wasn’t a realistic scenario anyway.
Arcane reserve at Lv2 was already sufficient, nothing was running dry mid-fight anymore.
No organization behind him. No reliable allies nearby. A strange city and a wanted status.
Survival first.
[Mutation complete.]
[Physical Resistance elevated to: Lv3.]
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