[Y/n] POV
"Please, Alva ! I can't do this. I'm not ready for this !"
"[Y/n], I waited. I have been patiently waiting for the day you volunteer to come to me. But I can't take it anymore. I can't stand it when you always miss him, I can't stand it every time I see the way you look at him. Why is that, [Y/n] ? What have I done to deserve your cold attitude ?"
"You will never understand how I feel. You get to decide everything for your life, you get to marry the person you love, while I can't. It's unfair. No matter how much I try, things never go my way. All because I'm a woman ! You are no different from my father, you arbitrarily decide what you think is good for me without considering my feelings. Of course, I am aware of my current position. But I need time. I need more time to sort out my feelings."
"I can help you with that. I will show you a very effective way to quickly forget about that man."
"What ?"
"If I fill your mind every day, you won't have the heart to think about him anymore"
"What are you...Wait. No ! NO ! Stop ! Take your hand off of me ! DON'T TOUCH ME !"
As soon as I woke up from the nightmare, I felt a little short of breath, my body was shaking and I broke out in a cold sweat. I sat up, trying to regain my composure.
[Y/n]: Ugh, he's not here...they're...not here. I'm safe. I'm...not in that cage anymore.
I said that to myself. Luckily, I was still able to sleep after that. The next morning, I woke up early to cook breakfast with my friends. Everyone wishes me luck in the upcoming match.
Before we entered the match, I felt restless. For newbies, they will probably feel very nervous and afraid of the so-called "hunter". As for me, I'm more afraid of the mercenary sitting at the table with me. I know he doesn't trust me, but isn't this a bit too much ? He really scared me just by staring at me this whole time.
Naib: The match is about to begin. Ah, The Red Church. Listen here, newbie. You still don't know anything about this map, but don't you dare use it as an excuse if you die early.
Fiona: Calm down, Naib. On the first days you come here, you don't know anything. Don't be too strict with [y/n].
Eli: I still remember the times you saved me half way through, or the time you forgot to turn off your Elbow Pads and...
Naib: If you want the whole plate of cake on your face, go ahead.
Eli: Haha...
The match has started. I was lucky to be placed next to the cipher machine in the middle of the church as soon as I entered the match, so I didn't have to run around to find one.
Eli: The hunter is Wu Chang
I can hear Eli's voice over the walkie-talkie. In Vera's hunter class, she mentioned a hunter named Wu Chang. If I remember correctly, she said...
""Wu Chang, Jack The Ripper and Hermit are the famous sugar daddy of the manor. They are handsome, elegant, and have a very attractive voice. I especially like Jack. Every time I hear his voice, my heart skips a beat. Joseph is a bit short, but his handsomeness is undeniable.""
I thought hunters and survivors saw each other as enemies, but that doesn't seem to be the case. There are also rumors that Helena is dating someone on the hunter side.
Since the hunter felt he wouldn't be able to capture Fiona, he decided to change his target. He teleported to the cipher I was decoding. As soon as I saw him coming, I was so scared that I immediately threw ink in his eyes, then I ran away. He cried out in pain.
Wujiu: You're gonna pay for that, you little b!tch
He seemed very angry at what I just did. Wu Chang started chasing me. He managed to hit me once before I hit him with a pallet. His umbrella hit my right flank. It didn't bleed, but it was a dull ache, making it impossible for me to run properly. I almost fell a few times. Now I feel very grateful that Naib made me attend the training session. Of course I would be afraid of being chased by a 2 meter tall guy, but I was more afraid of being tied up in a tree all night. Thank you Naib, you're not a good teacher, but certainly a good motivator. Luckily for me, by the time Wu Chang gave up chasing Fiona, three ciphers were done. I just have to hold him off while everyone decode the last two ciphers.
Fiona: The cipher is ready to be primed
As soon as I got the signal, I jumped out the window. I immediately get terror shock, but soon the cipher was primed and I was instantly revived. Wu Chang now has detention. He continued to chase me for a while then teleported to the gate that Eli was decoding. I ran to the second gate, Naib and Fiona are also there. Since the hunter has Claustrophobia, the gate decoding speed is very slow. Eli had given his only owl to Fiona so he couldn't keep the hunter for long. It wasn't until he was put on the rocket chair that the gate was opened. Without hesitation, Naib ran to save Eli. I tried to stop him, but Naib didn't pay any attention to a word I said.
[Y/n]: What is he doing ? Eli is too far away. Even if he had tide turner, it wouldn't be enough for both of them to run to this gate or open the gate on the other side.
Fiona: Even if we leave Eli behind, we'll still win, but if there's still a chance, we definitely won't give up on our teammate. Look closely [Y/n]. This is something beyond what you have been taught.
Naib: Open the gate, I'll save the others
Fiona summons a portal with her holy key. A long-distance gate is opened. Eli immediately get Last Effort as soon as he was rescued. Both of them ran towards Fiona's holy gate, reaching the exit in the blink of an eye. We all escaped and gained a lot of points, while the hunters lost a lot of points. To get a win in the first game, I'm extremely happy. I jumped up and down, shouting in joy.
[Y/n]: I CAN'T BELIEVE IT ! WE WON ! WE WONNN ! ALL OF US ESCAPED ! THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE !
Fiona: You did well, [Y/n].
Fiona patted me on the shoulder
[Y/n]: How do you guys know it will work?
Naib: We have a hunch.
Eli: That plan was very reckless. If Wu Chang had chosen to keep watch from afar at that time, he might have seen Fiona's holy gate and destroyed it before Naib could save me.
Naib: But he didn't, right ? I saved your ass, dummy. A "thank you" would be nice.
Eli: Yeah, thanks for saving me.
Fiona: To win, it takes a little bit of risk, a little bit of faith, and a little bit of luck.
Now I understand why these guys are always at the top of the ban list. I'm happy that we won, but also a little sad for the hunter just now for being matched with these three demons.
__________________
Meanwhile, at the hunter's manor
Violetta: What's wrong with Wu Chang ?
Bane: Just leave him alone. He had just returned from a match with three S-rank survivors. I heard that he let all four of them get away.
Wu Chang, currently falling into depression, because he had to deal with three famous demons of the survivor side, and couldn't even catch a newbie.
_________________
Over time, I joined more matches. There's a loss, a win, and a draw. Mostly a draw. Thanks to everyone's help, I have known almost all the skills of the hunters in this manor. I came up with more new techniques, and the time I maintain the hunters increased significantly.
Losing because of my teammates' lack of understanding is a loss that I cannot accept. Once I was paired with Naib, Kevin and Patricia. When Patricia was chaired, Naib told everyone he was going to save her so we should just focus on decoding, but when he was right next to the chair and about to save, Kevin accidentally caught Naib with his rope. Patricia flew back to the manor, and it was just me and Kevin who escaped. Naib and I were furious that Kevin didn't stay put and decode, so we both hung him up in the tree.
I got closer to Luca. Sometimes he would say things about machines that I couldn't understand, but I stayed by his side to listen to him until he finished. If I were matched with Luca, I would definitely protect him with all my might. At first, I thought I should be nice to him because I owe him, but gradually, I really wanted to be Luca's friend. Luca's personality is still the same as before, the only thing that has changed is that he has become more natural.
In the past, I didn't consider that we could become friends because I was only interested in my plan. I treat Luca well because I need him for my plans, and Luca treats me well too. In the society I used to live in, people gave each other expensive gifts and sweet wishes to show their care. It's just a show to win people over, because in time of need, they'll come in handy. For "us", relationships are very important. However, I can sense pure kindness from what Luca does for me, which is different from my purported kindness. I tried to ignore it.
Luca: [Y/n] ?
Luca's voice startled me a bit.
[Y/n]: Huh ? Ah, yes, you were saying ?
Luca: You seemed to be zoning out so I called. Are you okay ? Is there something you don't understand in my words ?
[Y/n]: No, no, i'm fine. It's just that what you said reminded me of something from the past
Luca looked at me silently for a moment. When he tilted his head, I tilted my head too.
Luca: You know, sometimes I get a weird feeling when I'm around you.
[Y/n]: How so ?
Luca: It feels...so familiar, like I've seen you somewhere before.
Luca's words made my heart jump. Is his memory recovering ? If that happens, I don't know how I will have to face him in the future. In my panic, I couldn't think of anything, so I kept quiet.
Luca: I guess you remind me of my mother.
[Y/n]: Huh ?
Luca: After the accident that damaged my brain, I forgot almost everything that happened in my life. Only the memory of my mother, I still remember very clearly. [Y/n] is pretty and gentle, so there must be something about you that reminds me of my mother.
I don't think that's the problem...but that's okay. Better than letting him remember what happened between us.
[Y/n]: Thanks for the compliment.