Chapter 13: A Dear Friend

Christine's eyes were wide with shock and suprise as she stared at Zoey from behind. She had instinctively run into the dungeon without a second thought, not even caring for the possible dangers that could've awaited her, her thoughts were only filled with Zoey as she had feared for her safety.

On her way inside the dungeon, she had found small traces of blood that belonged to a human, making her more anxious the further she went inside. Zoey's footprints were the only lead she had on Zoey's whereabouts.

"Zoey?" Christine called her name, a slight tremble in her voice as she took a hesitant step forward, her eyes roaming over Zoey's battered clothing. She could tell that Zoey was different, she had the aura of a warrior, her presence powerful and majestic.

Slowly, Zoey turned around to see her best friend, the skill book still in her hand. Zoey's breath caught in her throat, she couldn't believe that Christine actually came for her, a small warmth spread through her chest.

"Christine...I-" Zoey was interrupted as Christine suddenly ran towards her and wrapped her arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Zoey!" Christine exclaimed, her voice cracked and soft with relief, "You're okay, you're actually okay." Christine hugged her tighter, her body trembling slightly as if she feared that Zoey might dissapear at any moment.

Zoey's arms slowly found their way around Christine waist as she reciprocated the hug, happy to be in the arms of her best friend. They stood there for a moment, basking in the feeling of being in each other's arms.

After a few seconds, Christine pulled back slightly, staring into Zoey's eyes with a mixture of shock and wonder, "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" Christine asked, her eyes roaming Zoey's body.

"I'm fine, don't worry." Zoey smiled warmly, "Plus, look what I got." Zoey grinned as she grabbed the skill book with both hands and showed it to Christine.

"A skill book!?" Christine exclaimed in shock, her eyes widening. "So that means," Christine paused, staring into Zoey's eyes for confirmation, her heart beating faster.

"Yes, I've awakened. I've finally awakened, I'm a Hunter now." Zoey announced, smiling happily.

Christine put her hands over her mouth as a tear of joy escaped her eye, she hugged Zoey again "I can't believe it, you've done it, you've actually done it. This is ground breaking!" Christine said, excited for Zoey's future as a Hunter.

The heat in Zoey's eyes grew stronger as she felt that she could bawl out and cry her heart out in this moment, Zoey wiped her eyes with her sleeve, turning to face Christine again.

"How about we get out of here, this isn't an ideal place to begin celebrating." Zoey joked lightly, grinning playfully.

"Come, let's go!" Christine said, grabbing Zoey's hand as she began to drag her out of the dungeon.

Zoey rolled her eyes playfully, allowing herself to be dragged away. As they walked, Zoey couldn't help but appreciate Christine more and more, she always reminded herself about how much she valued Christine for every action she had done for her.

Whenever Zoey felt sad or had a major breakdown, Christine was always there for her providing emotional support and encouragement. She would always hold her hand, or provide a hug to help ease her burdens, and that was a debt Zoey couldn't repay.

She was always there when she had nothing to give, always helping her whether it would be financially, or emotionally. Heck, even her job at the supermarket was thanks to Christine.

'And I was considering...damn it.' Zoey clenched her fist at the earlier thought of throwing her life away, which she probably would've done a long time ago if she hadn't run into Zoey.

As Zoey and Christine passed the portal entrance of the dungeon, arriving on the other side, they were suprised to find the agents of the Hunter Association waiting for them, as well as the land lord.

"Christine!' The landlord shouted in frustration, walking up to her "What were you thinking? Running into the dungeon like that!? It's way too dangerous." The landlord lectured her fiercely, before letting out a sigh of defeat.

"But atleast you're both safe, and by the looks of it, didn't get hurt or run into any monsters."

Zoey smiled awkwardly, she felt like a knife was thrust deep into her chest at the landlord's words, a deep feeling of guild entering her heart.

One of the agents of the Hunter Association walked up to Zoey, she was a woman with long brown hair and eyes, and she didn't look very happy with what Zoey had done.

"You!!" The agent yelled as she grabbed Zoey's shoulders, pulling her close "How could you run into the dungeon like that!? Are you insane!? You have no Mana in your body, there's no hope for you awakening as a Hunter, just accept it already, you stupid girl!"

Zoey grit her teeth as she clenched her fists in frustration, barely holding her anger back from exploding. The agent continued to yell at her, lecturing her about the possipblities of doing so irrational.

"Enough!" Christine yelled, "You've yelled at her long enough, this type of treatment towards her is just unfair! I've gone into the dungeon to go and get her, I should be yelled at too." Christine said.

"Forget it, Christine." Zoey muttered under her breath, walking past them and towards her apartment, waving goodbye at her without turning back.

"That girl is so irresponsible, no wonder she got-" Before the agent could finish her words, the dungeon entrance cracked and shifted, glowing in a bright blue light before dissapearing into itself.

Everyone except Christine were shocked, as the dungeon dissapearing could only mean one thing: Zoey had actually cleared it.

"Wha....Impossible." The agent muttered in suprise and shock, "There's no way...Zoey could've..." Her words trailed off as the puzzle pieces started to fit together.

'There's no way that she could've cleared it, did that girl actually awaken!? But that makes no sense, she had no Mana in her body prior to this, how is this possible!?' The agent thought, her body trembling slightly as she realized her mistake by yelling at her like that.

"Zoey cleared the dungeon by herself, I don't know how she managed to do it considering that you need a party to take down a dungeon by still being in the early stages of leveling, but she did."

Christine said, walking away as she grunted under her breath at the unforgivable behaviour the agent exuded. Leaving the agents and the landlords still reeling in shock.

'This....this changes everything...'

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Zoey sat on her bed, the skill book in her hands as she started to concentrate in absorbing it and learning the [Fireball] Skill. She closed her eyes and took a deep breathe to calm her nerves, banishing the anger she had felt back outside.

The skill book shined brightly as it glowed in a fiery light, a warm feeling seeped into Zoey's body as she turned the book open and stared into it's pages, reading and deciphering it's contents.

'I...I can see the letters clearly, I can read the language perfectly.' Zoey realized, her eyes widening slightly as she continued to read and steadily absorb the contents inside the skill book.

The Skill extraction process relied heavily on the usage of Mana and Intelligence, as they were the key factors behind the absorption of skills from Skill Books. The higher the Intelligence, the more easier it would be to read and understand the contents of the skills you're trying to learn. 

Although the process seemed slow, it was actually fast as this whole process of reading and absorbing the contents of the Skill Book was happening in mere seconds.

[You Have Gained A New Skill!]

[Fireball Lv1 Has Been Added To Your List Of Skills.]

Zoey closed the skill book as she closed her eyes, she could feel the crazy amount of information that has been poured into her brain settle, as she now fully comprehended and understood the secrets of the [Fireball] Skill.

'That...felt strange, to say the least.' Zoey thought, placing a hand on her forehead as she flopped onto her back and stared at the ceiling. The skill book shimmering into red particles before dissapearing as it's knowledge was now absorbed by Zoey.

'[Heightened Senses] Makes everything everything very easy, from to fighting, to learning skills, and so much more.' Zoey thought with a small smile, pushing herself up from the bed.

Just as Zoey was about to test her newly acquired skill to summon a fireball, she heard knocks on her door, causing her to stop and turn to face in that direction.

With a small sigh, Zoey walked up to the door and opened it, revealing Christine to be standing outside.

"We need to talk." She said, her tone innocent and gentle. But her expression full of determination.