563 Shadow On

"It looks like Freddy was quite popular around here," Quinn mumbled.

"It's not just that, I think you reminded them all of how dangerous it is. When people are scared, they want to blame something, anything and right now that anger is towards us. But Quinn, don't hate them for it." Paul said.

Quinn didn't hate them for it, but it was putting them in a challenging position. Due to how the system worked, they couldn't take any quest nor rank up, and they wouldn't even be allowed to leave the shelter until they took a quest.

They were trapped.

"Hey, I helped you guys out the other day," Fex said, with a smile on his face as he approached another group at a table. "Do any of you want to come join us?"

The group looked at each other, and they all had concerned looks on their faces.

"Look, we're sorry, bro. You really helped us out big time, but we just think it's bad luck after something like that happened, and so soon as well. Maybe after this has died down, you can join us."

Fex then moved onto another table, as that wasn't the only group they had helped that day.

"You don't understand." The man replied. "Freddy helped us all when we first came here. Hunting with him was easier than ever. He knew the techniques and the best places, and it's because of him, no one had died for so long. If he died with you guys, then…"

It looked like no one was going to pull through for them. That much was clear.

"What do we do?" Kazz asked.

"You guys do what you want, I'm going to talk to Nate," Quinn said as he walked off a little frustrated.

With nothing to do, Paul decided he would head off to the training room. Following him was Kazz, she still had a mission to do after all. Although Quinn didn't say anything about him looking after them this time, Fex felt like it was still his responsibility, so he went with them as well.

While in the training room, Paul was busy trying to learn the poison ability once more. Kazz just stood there looking at him, not interacting with him or anyone else.

"Man, vampires are boring." Fex thought. Instead, while he was waiting, he decided to close his eyes and meditate.

'What did that blockhead say again? To shut off your mind and feel something in your chest?' It didn't work the first time when Fex tried to find a soul weapon, but there was no harm in trying again.

Whenever they were resting, it looked like Quinn was still trying as well, so maybe there was something.

Just maybe, something would be there.

.....

"How are we meant to take a quest if no one will join us! Can't they make an exception and just let us four go." Quinn said, complaining to Nate.

He wished he could continue hunting every day. That way, he could rank up even further to build his legacy. Still, here they were a little short-handed with everything coming down on them from above.

"Quinn, don't you understand. They set the rules at five people for a reason. So that something like what just happened won't happen again." Nate replied back. "Think about it, now you want me to ask them if four of you can go when five of you went and one of you died. Everyone right now thinks you're weak. They're probably scared if they do go with you they'll die too."

"Weak, you know I'm not weak," Quinn replied. "It won't happen again. I promise that."

"It's not me you need to convince Quinn, it's them. I don't run this base, and I'm new here as well."

It was tense between the two of them, but they both knew they were passionate just because they cared. Nate didn't want this situation for Quinn either, but he didn't know what to do.

"If I can't complete any quests, then what's the point of me being here?" Quinn said. "What would happen if I chose to leave? Go hunting somewhere else and join another faction."

"That's not possible, Quinn," Sam said. "They won't let you. The ship that you came on. It's already been impounded. They're keeping an eye on it for now."

Quinn wanted to yell out, he had no clue they were doing things like this and Sam could see by Quinn's reaction he didn't like this one bit.

"It's not the Crow's fault." Sam continued to explain. "This is all orders from the Graylash family. Just for now during these times. If you break in and try to get your ship, they'll come after you. Even Blip has something he feared, and he's a lot more scared of the Graylash family then he is you."

Hearing all of this new information just made Quinn's ideals even more sure. He thought this was the perfect place when he arrived, but it turns out it wasn't the best place for him after all.

"I do have some good news." Sam interrupted the silence. "The forger you asked me to find, he is located on another planet called Liptoma. It's one owned by the Graylash family. If you want to go speak to him or see him, you can.

"There are a few teleporters that you can use, but you will have to pay. When you get there, you are not allowed to leave the shelter. However, you are able to buy and purchase things. If you wish to transfer to the faction running that shelter, then that's a whole nother thing altogether.

"Honestly, they won't even look at your request for a transfer at your current Rank. You're a nobody that they don't really need to listen to."

Quinn had heard enough. It wasn't Sam or Nate's fault, but it was clear that they could do nothing to help his situation. Before leaving the room, he said one more thing. "Don't worry, I won't be a nobody for long."

Both Nate and Sam looked at each other and were conflicted. They didn't know whether or not to feel excited about what was about to come, or worried.

Eventually, the news of no one wanting to join the new recruits had reached the ears of another high ranking official. Linda. She predicted this would happen.

It wasn't because they were new, it would have happened to anyone who had died while Freddy was in their group. Sooner or later, death was going to happen, it just happened to one of the worst people.

Still, Linda couldn't get her mind and obsession off outing Paul as the blood evolver. Honestly, it wasn't important for the Crows, but while doing her day to day activities, something about it just bugged her. She needed confirmation that it was really him.

Even then, what would that even change? She just didn't understand why someone would hide their abilities.

"Suzy!" Linda shouted. From outside her office, a brown haired girl came rushing in. As she did, her foot seemed to hit something, causing her to tumble slightly before regaining her balance and putting both her hands out.

"Safe." She said with a smile.

"I have an important job for you," Linda said.

Not knowing what to do, Quinn decided to head back to the Quest hall. He thought maybe he could convince someone by offering them a larger percentage of the credits, or telling them they could stay near the shelter and just wait for them.

Surely someone would accept, right?

Upon returning, everyone looked at Quinn for a second, before looking away again.

'This is going to be tough.'

At that moment, he felt a little tap on his shoulder from behind. When he turned around, he could see a brown haired young girl behind him.

"Hey, I hear you were looking for a new member on your team. Do you mind if I join you?"

Quinn looked at her, and images in his head of her covered in blood entered his mind. He wanted to refuse. He didn't want another person to die. However, what choice did he have?

"Thank you," Quinn said.

A quest was selected of another group of intermediate tier beasts. Quinn didn't want to do the same quest again, because he got more experience points from killing new types of beasts he had never killed before. The group was called together, and Suzy introduced herself to everyone, for some reason, she seemed to take a big liking to Kazz.

"You can call me big sister." Kazz said.

"Alright big sis!" Suzy replied.

Purchasing the required maps and glossary, Paul was in charge of gathering as much information on the beasts as possible.

They had finally exited out of the shelter and before taking one more step out into the wild, Quinn wanted to do one more thing.

"Suzy, thank you for doing this. I know you know what happened last time, but I promise you, you will not die." After saying these words, he gave a sudden hug to her. Her face started to go red, and the others felt like it was out of character for Quinn.

'When did he become so smooth?' Fex thought. It was the perfect time to hug someone.

[Skill activated]

[Shadow on]

After letting go of her, underneath where Suzy stood, her shadow seemed to flicker and move slightly.

'Nobody is dying this time.'

******

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