Chapter 16 . . . What The Hell Happened?

[Luke]

As I thought, I couldn't get a shut-eye. I wasn't accustomed to sleeping like this, prompt on the floor like some beggar asking for money.

In a way, I envied Cross that he could just slump his butt on the cold wooden planks, close his eyes, and snore to dreamland.

I guess that's the advantage of being poor. Their body was already accustomed to hardship that they simply didn't care where they slept.

My family was well off, and I never once slept on the floor . . . Alright, maybe that one time that I got drunk too much and puked on the marbles, but that was it.

I might go to the gym to maintain my toned body, but it doesn't mean I was built to sleep on the hardwood. The hard mattress was okay but definitely not without some kind of soft material to cushion my bones and sore muscles.

Guys like me who work hard should also rest hard.

If only I still had enough gil, then maybe I could have another room to myself. But the value of money here didn't make any sense. Everything was so expensive, while the money I got from fighting wasn't even enough for basic needs like food and shelter! I could accumulate like maybe 500 gil per day or 1000 at most if I was solo grinding nonstop.

But those alone weren't enough for daily expenses like food and lodging. Maybe if I camp out at night or hunt beasts for food, I could cut the cost. But how long would I live like that?

Probably if my ATP was high enough to take in more challenging foes and quests with greater rewards.

I kept telling myself that this was just the beginner's village. Everything was difficult at first, and we're supposed to grind nonstop to level our ATP, and everything will be easy once we progress further.

However, my thoughts went back to my first day here. I had defeated dozens of beasts even before we formed a party, but all I got was a 200 gil heads up from everyone.

Maybe I should dissolve the party so I could get more gil and EXP? After all, I was doing all the work while the rewards were low. It was better to solo at this point. Or join a different group. If I was going to receive little gil or EXP, I might as well not work myself hard.

I was wasting my time and talent with this bunch.

My eyes half opened and adjusted to the darkness. Should I just leave them here and go on my own? After all, I barely know them. And with my innate skill with the sword, wits, and charms, I could easily find a much better group or, better yet, create my own group?

Maybe a guild in the future, and we'd be the most powerful union in this world. Things like money, food, items, and lodging weren't going to be a problem anymore!

It wasn't a bad idea. I bet there was plenty of skilled fighters along the way. Not these nobody's that I had to protect constantly.

I checked my ATP.

‖ A T T R I B U T E S ‖

HP: 100

MP: 70

STR: 14

DEF: 12

MDF: 7

INT: 7

AGL: 8

LCK: 5

‖ E N D ‖

I sighed in silence.

Even the EXP in this world didn't make any sense. I was barely scraping anything from the low-level monsters. Not to mention that I had to share it with the others. And with the high EXP required to level an ATP, I didn't know how long it would take for all my ATP to reach two digits.

I didn't know how I fared against the others, but I think my ATP was high enough to solo, and with my innate skill with the sword, it was better if I did fight on my own. In that way, I didn't have to share the rewards.

I made up my mind.

I decided to break the group once we completed the 'Letter' quest. Too bad about Soarsie and Jane, but they had Cross to watch over them.

I didn't want someone weighing me down, and currently, they were more of baggage than anything else.

I was formulating my excuse for my plan when I saw Cross creeping over the bed at the corner of my eyes.

What was he doing?

. . . Don't tell me he'd try to squeeze between the two women? Was he that desperate? Or was he a pervert deep inside?

Or maybe he just wanted to sleep beside his girlfriend?

But there was a right time for that! And this moment was not one of those!

I wanted to shake my head in disappointment. But I did understand his desire, even if it was wrong. Who didn't want to sleep beside two cute girls? If I didn't get to experience it most of the time back on earth, I might be acting like him.

Deprived and pathetic.

I was going to make a sound to wake up the girls. No matter how deprived he was, what he was doing was still wrong. And frankly, it was kind of sad to see that he had to sneak just so he could sleep beside two gorgeous women.

I felt pity for him.

Sorry Cross, but someone had to stop you. Even if you're Soarsie's boyfriend, what you're doing wasn't right.

I opened my mouth, and a low moan echoed in the stillness. It didn't come from me, though. It must be from Soarsie or Jane.

Just what is going on? Don't tell me . . . !

I was ready to hop to my feet and stop whatever indecent act was going on when in a blink, Cross was sitting on a lotus position on the floor again. Perfectly still and asleep, like all that happened was a product of my imagination.

Soarsie sat on the bed, rubbed her eyes, and went back to sleep. But she might as well be invisible in my eyes, for Cross stole all my attention.

I blinked several times, making sure that I wasn't hallucinating, but he was there. In front of me. And I was not dreaming.

What the hell happened?

One minute he was on the bed. I didn't even blink, and he was on the floor again.

Did he acquire a special skill? It was possible that he acquired some kind of spell that let him change position in a fraction of a second.

But . . .

His ATP shouldn't be higher than mine. Was it the difference between our classes? He was a mage, and I was a swordsman. Maybe mages had an easier time acquiring spells? Did he level a specific ATP to acquire it?

I must know.

Because whatever he just did, it was something that I wanted to do too. Teleporting in a blink of an eye was an OP skill I wanted to acquire.

I would ask him later, even if I had to threaten him with what I saw just now. I no longer care what they would think. I was going to leave anyway.

In this world, every man for himself.