Chapter 38: The power of the moon
Although this new Quest offered him the same rewards for the same type of work, Gary actually felt a bit conflicted. As the description had pointed out, he wasn’t really a member of the black colour gang, yet these people had helped him out and he had literally fought side by side with them just moments ago. Gary might be unable to lie his way out of the situation, but he could always just flee.
‘I… I can’t backstab them.’ Gary thought, but just as he was ready to get out of the park, someone let out a scream. Turning around, he could see that it had originated not too far from where he was.
“You should have stayed on your side, b.a.s.t.a.r.d!” One of the black colour gang members gleefully exclaimed as he whacked his baseball bat down on the back of one of the red colour gang members who was unable to do anything about this sort of bullying.
‘If that guy keeps. .h.i.tting him like that, he… might even kill him.’ Gary realised, clenching his fists.
It was then that the high schooler recalled how five members of the very same colour gang had tried to abduct that girl not too far away from his home. During his time working for the Underdogs, Gary had seen that not every member was a scrumbag, some still had some humanity left inside of them like Kirk, but watching this group of ruffians, they clearly didn’t belong in that category.
They robbed people, made it so the streets were unsafe, and didn’t even think twice about hurting others. In a way, the actual big gangs above them were far more resectable as they at least made a real effort not to get regular civilians involved, yet it was different with the colour gangs.
“Hey didn’t you hear me, I’ve asked what group you’re from?” The black colour gang member repeated his question, but Gary just kept looking at the guy with the baseball bat having fun against his helpless victims. What’s more, the third member of their group picked up one of the dropped pocket knives, and brought it really close to the red colour gang member’s face.
“Let me give you a little reminder of what happens if you barge into the wrong territory.”
Seeing this, Gary couldn’t take it any more.
“Screw this, the system’s right.” Gary mumbled, the other person had heard what he had said but didn’t quite understand the context. “I don’t belong to any of these gangs!”
The black colour gang member needed a moment to gleam the meaning behind the last thing the high schooler had said, but by that time a fist was about to connect with him. Gary had also activated his Charging Heart skill once more, making his fist speed up mid swing, as it aimed right at his opponent’s chin, sending him flying to the ground.
Gary didn’t hesitate as he moved onto the next one. Having watched Gary just knock out his buddy with a single hit, the gang member dropped the pocket knife in a panic, quickly trying to pick it back up. However, that proved to be a big mistake. The moment he looked down, the high schooler took it as his opportunity to kick him square in his face, making him join his buddy in dreamland.
Unfortunately for Gary, the last member of the black colour gang that was still up, was faster on the uptake. Before he could turn around to deal with him, it was Gary’s turn to take a beating. Moments after his kick to the face, he felt a strong force on his back, stemming from a baseball bat.
‘d.a.m.n it! Why do all these goons have to aim at my ribs?!’
[-10 HP]
[Congratulations! After repeatedly taking a beating your body has grown stronger. Don’t get used to this though, otherwise people might think you’re a M.]
[Endurance +1]
‘Is this really the time to congratulate me? And what the heck is a M!’ Gary thought, as he could feel the baseball bat continually pound him. He had curled up into a ball, placing his hands above his head to protect it. The only silver lining was that the subsequent hits only took off 5 points of his HP, though he was unsure whether this was because the gang member was exhausted or his boosted Endurance.
Gritting his teeth, Gary bared through the pain, and let the adrenaline take care of the pain. He decided to go for his legs charging in tackling him. A move he had been practicing in Rugby many times before. Lifting him up with his strength, Gary then soon slammed him down on the concrete floor, knocking him out and causing him to drop the bat.
[Quest reward: 150 Exp]
[200/460 Exp]
[You are a lone wolf that is growing]
[Would you like to Force bond marking any of those that you have defeated? (1/5)]
[During the Hunt, you will gain additional Exp for each successful Mark you have successfully taken down]
[1/5]
Gary had naturally declined the offer to Mark more people. He still didn’t understand what a hunt was, he had an idea, but he wasn’t prepared to kill people, not if it could be avoided.
‘I still need to figure out how to get rid of Barry’s Mark. Should I try to talk to him after Rugby practice?’ Gary contemplated.
It was getting late and it was time for Gary to head home, otherwise his mother would start to get suspicious. Due to his ‘little fun’ with the colour gangs, he hadn’t had the time to go to the gym. It looked like he had to give it a miss for today and fail his Daily Quest.
Still, he had gained way more Exp than he would have in the gym. Nevertheless, he imagined that with what he had just done, tensions between the two colour gangs were guaranteed to rise and they would most likely act more cautious by travelling in bigger groups for the foreseeable future. It was unlikely that he would get another chance to farm so much Exp, but just doing it once had already been worth it.
Gary might be unable to complete the gym part of his Daily Quests, but nothing was stopping him from stopping by the shop as he had done these past days to purchase some more protein. After finis.h.i.+ng the raw steak away from the eyes of others, the high schooler once again had his Energy restored, which helped him heal his injuries, yet there was still one problem.
‘My money is going down a lot faster than I thought it would. I still don’t have a consistent supply. What should I do? I thought Kai would be calling me more often, how long can this last?’ Gary thought seeing that he had about two hundred dollars or so left out of his total five hundred, the money from the initial transportation from the Underdogs he didn;t want to touch, planning to give that to his mother somehow…
On his way home, Gary was surprised by the scent of raw food. He rubbed his eyes, because he could visibly see the scent in the air. It looked like a red mist that led up to a certain apartment.
‘This… looks like the same thing I saw at school. It’s the trail that allows me to follow those that are Marked, so does that mean Barry lives in this area?’ Gary wondered.
It was only a few streets away from where he lived, and he didn’t like this thought at all. Sure, Barry often used his status to get what he wanted at school, but that still wasn’t enough of a reason to kill him. He might not have been the nicest person, but there were far worse people than him.
‘I can’t just turn up at his door, especially not this late. I’ll have to try to think of something tomorrow instead. I still have some time before the full moon anyway, and who knows maybe Tom was just making a big deal out of nothing.’
Getting home, Gary greeted his mother and sister and ate the dinner that she had left for him quite easily, despite already having eaten 2kg of meat. His stomach just seemed endless ever since he had turned.
When trying to go to sleep that night though, Gary was having trouble. He couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen when the full moon was to come out. It didn’t help that he could see his sister Amy sleeping on the bed next to him.
Then, when the clock went past midnight over to the next day, the system delivered him a new message.
[The power of the moon is starting to run through your body. The fuller it gets, the more powerful you’ll become.]
[Current bonus: All Stats +1]
Reading the message, Gary could feel that his body felt slightly different. When checking his stats, he could see that each of his three base stats now displayed a (+1) next to them. This was similar to what it looked like when he used Charging Heart, which told him that it was a temporary boost.
‘Wow, I feel so alive right now. Will this seriously continue to happen as we get closer and closer to the full moon?’ Gary wondered.
However, his happiness soon went away as the next set of messages appeared.
[Your bloodl.u.s.t grows]
[11 days until the next full moon]