Tried and Failed

Blake sits on the sofa uncomfortably, it was obvious that he was nervous.

At this moment, he felt like he was surrounded by dark smoke, and he doesn't know what lies inside and beyond the dark smoke. He peeks at the tip of the dark smoke and finds that there were Ghouls and Vampires inside of it.

It terrifies him, his life was mundane and peaceful before all of this.

Now he realized that becoming a Privileged Player albeit brings many benefits, but there were downsides too. Lately, he has been dwelling inside the game world and having fun swimming in the excitement of fighting.

Compared to the other Players, he was much stronger than them.

But this rapid growth also comes with the fact that he was going to be hunted for the Limited PK VR Helmet, and today is the second time his life was threatened because of it. Nobody could help him right now.

The authorities were also corrupt, and he couldn't seek shelter and help from them.

For the first time, he felt completely isolated and alone.

'I'm scared, but I need to defend myself. I have to survive and keep on going...' Blake thought.

Sighing dejectedly, Blake puts both hands behind his head and looks at the ceiling. Closing his eyes for a moment, he then started to ponder the possibilities that might happen to him and also his next step.

Out of the bad possibilities, he feared the Ghoul coming to him the most.

Blake could only curse himself for not wearing a face mask or something to cover his face earlier. Even though it was dark, it's safe to assume that the Ghoul see his face and would definitely be able to identify him.

If anyone could help him, that person should be the Pumpkin Man.

Although that is the Pumpkin Man is the best bet he has right now, meeting with that person is going to be hard. Additionally, even if Blake does meet with the Pumpkin Man, he doesn't know how it will go considering in the other Privileged Players' eyes, he's definitely a thief.

Just as he was thinking deeply, his eyes darted to the door.

Due to him being very alert after his encounter with the Ghoul, his senses were activated to the maximum. It was then, Blake uses his Nocturnal Blood Sight skill and finds a person standing right in front of the door.

Frowning for a second, Blake stands up from the sofa and heads to the door.

"Where are you going? I haven't stitched it yet"

"Ssshhh..."

Gesturing to Maura to be silent, Blake creeps to the door before the doorbell suddenly rang. Opening the door, he was faced with a man in a black jacket and a black face mask. It's a man that he doesn't recognize.

But as he was about to ask what the man wants, the man suddenly takes out a blade.

Thanks to his Nocturnal Blood Sight skill, he could already tell that the man's blood is pumping faster than normal, and the blood vessels in his right arm swell. In an instant, Blake's expression turns cold.

Not even wasting a single second, he parried the man's attack easily.

Upon seeing this the man was surprised as Blake seems to be expecting him to attack. It was then, Blake turns his body sideways to avoid the knife before with one smooth motion, he grabbed the man's arm and gripped it tightly.

Crack!

A boney sound can be heard as the man's arm breaks, and he was surprised by this.

Following that, Blake quickly went behind the man and wrapped his arms around the man. His right arm wrapped around the man's neck, choking him while his left-hand covers the man's mouth to muffle his wails of agony.

Bringing the man inside, he then pinned the man on the ground roughly.

"Who sent you here...?" Blake asked.

Not even hesitating, the man replied savagely, "I'm not telling you shit!"

Blake clicked his tongue in displeasure when he heard this and tighten his right arm, clenching the man's windpipe even stronger. In addition, he also grabbed the knife beside him and points it at the man's left eye.

"Answer, or lose an eye. I'm not going to ask twice..." Blake said again.

Seeing that the man still refusing to talk, Blake was about to stab the man's left eye but Maura suddenly stopped him from the side, "Wait, Steel...? Is that you?" She asked, finding the man to be similar.

Upon hearing this, Blake glanced at her with a frown, "You know him?"

"Ah, I think I do. He's one of my friends. Can you please let him go?" Maura replied subtly.

Despite being reluctant to let the man go, Blake stands back up and lets him go. It was the heat of the moment, he thought that the man is one of the Ghoul's goons that were sent to follow him to his apartment.

Instantly after he was freed, the man grabbed the knife and backs away to the wall.

"Seraphina, I followed you here. But who the heck is he?!"

"It's a long story, but calm down for now. Drop the knife moron or you'll get killed"

Glancing at Blake that is eyeing him sharply from the sofa, the man gritted his teeth before he lets go of the knife and raised his left hand, he couldn't raise his other hand because his arm was broken.

A moment later.

Maura already explained that she failed in killing the witness to her mission, which is Blake.

In return, Steel also told her that he was at the meeting point in the abandoned warehouse before they got attacked. At first, there are more than three dozen of them swarming the abandoned warehouse and slaughtering them.

Out of the mercenaries that were there, he was the only one who is able to escape.

But while he was resting nearby, he saw Blake and Maura.

Not knowing where to go, he decided to follow closely which eventually end up like this.

"We need to report this to the organization, there shouldn't be anyone being sent for a mission during this time. One of them that has yellow eyes said something about the city and also another city to the north, and I feared that their nest is not only at that place" Steel explained.

Upon hearing this, Maura smiled wryly, "I don't think I could get back..."

"I failed the mission, and the employer is pretty powerful that I was reminded to not fail the mission. If I get back, then I'll definitely be killed, so there's no reason for me to come back" She added acutely dispirited.

SteelIf S clenched his jaw when he heard this, "Bullshit! I'll help you so don't worry"

"Are you sure you want to come back? It's unnatural for our meeting point to be located like that, they might still be roaming around about now. Truthfully, I gave Hendric the package of my mission while I take care of other things, but it seems those monsters were there to steal that package" Maura replied with a warning tone.

One of the Limited VR Helmets that she managed to steal is too valuable to lose.

Due to that, she decided to give it to her trusted aid, Hendric to hold until she came back from searching for the second Limited VR Helmet as well as killing Blake in the process. It's for safety purposes.

But now that the meeting point is coincidentally attacked, she's suspicious about it.

Knowing the miraculous ability that the Limited VR Helmet can provide from how strong Blake has become, it's not a stretch to tell that the Ghoul came there to steal the package that somehow got leaked.

If Steel tries to go back to the organization, he might get ambushed along the way.

Although he managed to escape the Ghoul, it's still unknown whether he was off the hook or the Ghoul is still searching for him. Making a reckless move right now when the situation is hot is going to be a bad move.

"Fine, I'll lay low for a while. Come with me, I have a hiding spot" Steel sighed and said.

Upon hearing this, Maura tensed a bit as she smiled nervously. It was clear that she was nervous because of Blake sitting beside her, "I'm not giving permission for that. She's not going anywhere, she's going to stay here with me"

"Why would she do that, fucker? We don't need your permission" Steel replied sharply.

Blake leaned back on the sofa nonchalantly before he smile mockingly at Steel, he then raised his hand and pats Maura's head in ridicule, "Oh, is that so...? Then how about you ask her if her answer is the same as yours"

Listening to this, Steel gritted his teeth and looks over to Maura who was looking at the floor.

"I- I'm sorry, Steel. I can't go with you" Maura replied in embarrassment.

Steel was completely caught off guard by this, he couldn't believe what he was seeing and hearing right now. Amongst the ranks inside the organization, Maura is known for her feistiness. It was the reason why she got the nickname 'Seraphina'.

Seraphina literally means dragon in a female body, but now she becomes timid like this.

Chuckling lightly, Blake then stands up from the sofa and strides towards Steel who is kneeling on the ground beside the sofa, "How arrogant can you be? Didn't you listen to what she said? She tries to kill me and failed, it's only right for her to repay that sin back to me since I spared her life"

Although he said that, there are also other reasons why he doesn't want to hand Maura over.

Earlier during the fight against the Ghoul, Maura was actually able to take down the other people that were chasing her as well as saved him from the Ghoul that intends to finish him. If not for her, he would've been in big trouble.

Maura has proved to be useful, and he needs someone like her to actually survive.

"Now that we're on that point..." Blake stands towering over Steel before he squatted down to be at Steel's eye level, he then smiled teasingly before he continues, "Since you tried to kill me too and failed, I think it's right for you to work for me too"

"As if I would do that, it'll be over my dead body, fucker!" Steel impulsively retorted.

But this makes Blake smile even wider.

Under Steel's gaze, his eyes widened in shock when he saw Blake's menacing purple eyes turn crimson and also glowed, "Ah, I also forgot to tell you. I'm also not a human. So for me, making you succumb is quite easy..."

"W- What...?"