“You are Ambrose right.” Layla put her hand forward for handshake. “My name is Layla. Serenity told me a little bit about you.” 𝑶𝓋𝐥xt.𝗇t
“Nice to meet you.” Ambrose shook the hand while speaking in a rather monotone tone. In his eyes, she looked like the girls who used to make fun of him back in school.
The loose behavior with the skin-revealing outfit didn’t improve the first impression in Ambrose’s mind. He already felt like he wouldn’t get along with her.
However, unless the members of Silver Heart tried to make things hard for him, he wanted to try to get along with them to have greater success in completing the quest.
“A firm handshake. Nice~” Layla leaned on her door and winked seductively. However, to her surprise, the young man ignored her and took one step inside the room.
Before he could close the door, she put her hand in the way and said in a hurry. “We are going to play some cards downstairs. Wanna join?”
“I want to have a good night’s rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.” Ambrose said with an apologetic look as he wanted to close the door. He was signaling that he was too tired and hoped she got the hint, but unfortunately, she didn’t.
“Only one game.” Layla swung the door open with a smile. “It would be good for you to get to know other members before the important quest.”
“Sigh…” Ambrose pinched his nosebridge in annoyance. They had just traveled for twelve hours down a rocky, muddy road with a wagon that was bouncing up and down the entire time.
His buttocks hurt, his legs had been numb for the past three hours, and he was longing for the taste of sleep. He doubted he would be good company, as he was sometimes grumpy when he was sleepy.
Especially now, when his emotions haven’t been as stabilized as he hoped. He didn’t want to accidentally lash out at someone and make himself look bad in the eyes of others.
“I will introduce myself to others tomorrow.” Ambrose said with a tired smile that he tried closing the door, but to no avail.
“One game, pleaseee.” Layla showed a sweet smile. “Thirty minutes max.”
Ambrose took a deep breath and loosened his grip on his sword, which he had subconsciously grabbed. He also imagined slashing through her throat, separating her head from the torso.
‘Yeah, I think I have some anger issues.’ Ambrose inhaled and exhaled. He then turned back to the cheerful-looking girl and said with a forced smile. “I will be there in thirty. I haven’t visited reality since morning, and you can probably guess that I am starving.”
“Okay!” Layla said cheerfully and left while waving her hand. “We will be waiting!”
Ambrose closed the door and leaned his forehead against the door. He felt even more exhausted than before.
…
“Hey, guys~” Layla entered the empty dining hall off the inn. There was only one table with people seated around it, and they were shuffling cards. The rest of the dining hall was closed as they didn’t serve food this late.
Therefore, many of the town’s residents and inn visitors went to the tavern this late, where they could also purchase food or simply alcohol.
“Sup.” A man with short blond hair pulled a chair from a nearby table and put it beside him for Layla to use. Layla smiled and sat down on that chair, then crossed her legs to tempt the nearby young men.
“Are you y’all ready?” Teddy said after finishing shuffling his cards. Everyone at the table nodded, and he then began tossing cards to each individual until everyone had a deck of ten cards.
“Ah, by the way.” Layla checked her cards and said. “Ambrose, the person that came with Serenity, will join us in thirty minutes. So, let’s try to get along, aye?”
Suddenly, the table shook as Teddy slammed his fist down. He looked angrily at the flirty girl and asked.
“Why did you invite him?”
The rest of the group looked at Teddy with raised eyebrows, not understanding his hostile attitude. Some also looked at Layla, confused as to why he would invite a stranger.
“Serenity wanted us to get along, so I saw him in the hallway and decided to invite him.” Layla said crossing her arms with one hand holding the cards. “It will be only one game. Try to get along.”
Teddy clenched his fists and nodded at others. They began playing while anticipating the arrival of the stranger.
The night was getting dark, and a small flash of silver occasionally appeared on the horizon with the very distant sound of a rumble. The rain didn’t stop even for a moment, and it even made a few players think that there would be flooding soon, which would erase the town off the map.
Nearly half an hour later, a silhouette walked down the stairs while dressed in an all-black outfit. The outfit was purchased from Amaterasu, and it was something Ambrose found comfortable to wear.
It consisted of a buttoned linen shirt, trousers that slightly resembled jeans, and a pair of black boots. He had sent the other dirt-stained boots to the washing service, but luckily for him, he had spares.
With his new physique, the linen shirt clearly outlined his athletic physique, increasing his charm to onlookers. Yet his pale, sickly face turned many off, as it looked like he could suddenly knock down and die.
“Ambrose, here!” Layla waved her hand from the table. The previous game had just ended, and they were about to start another one.
Ambrose put one hand to his pocket and walked to the table with a slight fatigue in his eyes. He took a comfortable shower and ate a portion of the fish soup from Matilda. He was still feeling tired but was much more energetic than before.
The people around the table turned to the stranger out of curiosity. Teddy shuffled the cards while keeping his gaze on them, not looking at the young man.
Ambrose grabbed a chair from a nearby table and was about to drag it to the table.
But then Teddy looked at him sharply and shouted. “Oijoi, what do you think you are doing?”
“Hmm?” Ambrose looked at him in surprise.
“We aren’t allowed to move the chairs from their tables, innkeeper’s words!”
“Eh, but…” Layla wanted to speak out, as it was clear that he was lying, but Teddy’s sharp gaze made her quiet. He was still higher-ranked than her.
“Oh, alright.” Ambrose shrugged his shoulders and sat down on the chair at the separate table. He crossed his arms and lazily looked at the other table, where they were about to start playing cards.
The rest of the members in the group looked slightly awkward but didn’t want to speak against Teddy either.
Teddy gave everyone their cards and looked at his own. Then he side-glanced in Ambrose’s direction and saw him yawn lazily.
“You, there.”
“Mm?” Ambrose opened his eyes after he was about to fall asleep and saw Teddy’s bloodshot eyes. “What?”
“Has Serenity told you about the quest?” Teddy asked curiously while looking around the group. No one had played their turns yet as they were listening to the conversation.
“Not much.”
“Has she… told you about Zahhak Dojo?” When he mentioned the name, everyone at the table felt uncomfortable, as that name was taboo in many corners of the internet.
“Zahhak? No.” Ambrose had never heard about that before.
“They are Serenity’s former teammates from her time in Ember Online.” Teddy said and put the starting card at the center of the table. “They were the most hated, infamous guild in all of Ember Online.”
“Huh?” Ambrose looked at him with a frown. ‘If that’s true, why was Alice part of them?’
“They were infamous for only killing players. They didn’t hunt for monsters, as they found that too boring. They wanted excitement, and they got that from killing players, humiliating them, and making many quit the game altogether.”
Teddy nodded at the person who was seated beside him. The person put his own card down and turned back to Teddy to listen.
“Serenity, of course, is a kind person, so I was surprised to find out she was part of Zahhak. I joined this dojo because Serenity was known for being part of Zahhak. However, not many connect those two anymore because of her beauty, and in the eyes of everyone, members of Zahhak are inhumane monsters.
“However, I wanted to duel against her to see the strength of the legendary Zahhak.” Teddy chuckled. “I lost miserably. However, I vowed my loyalty to Serenity, and I will follow her everywhere.”
“And why are you telling me all of this?”
“Because you are an outsider.” Teddy spoke sharply. “Members of Zahhak won’t target us because of Serenity. However, what about you? They might’ve invited us, but they are not people you can reason with.
“They are monsters.
“They are hunters.
“They would chase their targers to the end of the world if needed. The distance between Amaterasu and Yatagarasu is nothing to them!
“Even if you escaped to that legendary Dark Continent, they would find you and kill you till you quit this game. This is what they do.
“Kill you over and over again until you have no other choice than to quit!”
“Huh.” Ambrose crossed his arms and leaned on the chair. “What is the point of this. Are you trying to make me scared.”
“You can still return to Amaterasu!” Teddy slammed his cards to the table. “Remove your temporary spawn and log off. When you come back tomorrow morning, you will be back in Amaterasu, and you can continue playing as you wish.”
“This sounds like… you want me to leave.” Ambrose scratched his neck and looked at him with a lazy look. “Why is that… I wonder.”
“As I said, you are outsider.” Teddy turned back to the card game. “Serenity is kind and must’ve invited you out of pity. I love that part of her, but it is also her biggest weakness.”
Smack!
An eerie sound reverberated across the dining hall.
Everyone at the table stood up in shock as they couldn’t believe their eyes.
A fist landed on Teddy’s cheek, sending him crashing to the floor.
“Argh!” Teddy looked stunned and turned to his assailant. His masculine face turned red in rage, and he immediately stood up while shouting. “What the hell!”
“A fucking loser.” Ambrose pulled his hand back after delivering a decisive punch. “You wanted to punch me right. I felt your gaze even back in Amaterasu.
“Let’s solve this like real men.”
Teddy touched his numb cheek and looked at Ambrose with an invisible fire flaring up in his eyes. “You made a big fucking mistake.”
“I don’t know why you hate me so much.” Ambrose chuckled and took off his shirt, revealing his absolutely toned torso. It was as if his physique had been carved by a master sculptor. “However, I am down to fight!”
“Wow…” Layla exclaimed and shook her head. She realized that this didn’t look good at all. ‘Noooo! Serenity will blame meee!’
“Very well.” Teddy laughed in anger and tore his shirt off. His chiseled muscles rippled beneath his tanned and glistening skin, a testament to years of dedicated training. His broad shoulders gave him an imposing presence,.
When he flexed his axe-like arms, his strong, veined hands showed the strength of his firm grip.
Ambrose grinned and put his arms in a boxing stance. Unlike Teddy, he possessed athletic and lean body that seamlessly combined both strength and agility.
His long limbs exhibited a perfect balance of muscle definition and flexibility, as if they had been honed through years of rigorous training. His shoulders were broad yet streamlined. With a pale complexion, his eyes were the color of the sky on a clear day.
They both shared perfect bodies of their respective areas. It was unclear who was going to win in a simple fist fight.
“Don’t fight!” Layla shouted.
However, neither of the men listened and they delivered their first punches.