If we reject her right now, that’ll only make us sound suspicious, or maybe she could even begin to hold a grudge against us. I don’t really know her intentions either, but the fact that she just approached us out of nowhere seems very suspicious.
I can’t really relax with her around, but thankfully, I’ve prepared a few trump cards to deal with her if she ever goes crazy and tries, well, to kill us or something. However, I am really just hoping she just wants to make new friends.
“Hm? And who are you? Annabelle? I’ve never heard of you.” Kevin said it cockily. “You want to join us?”
“Yeah! Can I?” Annabelle asked with a giggle.
“What do you specialize in?” Baihe wondered.
“Well…” Annabelle suddenly raised her dress upwards as countless small black spiders emerged.
“Uwaaah! "What the hell?!” Kevin panicked. “I hate spiders…”
“Oh, you’re an insect tamer?” Baihe wondered.
“Yeah! Something like that.” Annabelle nodded. “I can use them to do recon and other stuff, and I can control them to bite monsters and deal nasty poison and venom, hehehe… I’ve got other abilities, but I don’t want to ruin the fun and reveal everything yet."
“Huh… Well, I… Ugh, can’t you calm down?” I asked Kevin, who was hiding behind me and Baihe while trembling.
“I-I am trying! I just dislike spiders!” He sighed.
“Anyways…” Baihe said. “She seems useful; maybe we should make her join.”
I haven’t really talked to her about Annabelle at all, so she was clueless about the dangerous possibilities.
“Ugh, I don’t know myself." Kevin hesitated.
Although it might seem better to just tell her not to join us, the best way to keep an eye on her is by keeping her around. After all, they always say to keep your allies close and your enemies even closer.
“Can I join, pretty please?” Annabelle asked. “I-I don’t have any friends…”
Suddenly, she dropped her act out of nowhere and sounded rather honest.
“Hah… Well, you haven’t even asked about what our abilities are.” I said. “You seem to want to join us without any hesitation, as if you planned it from the start…”
“A-Ah…” Annabelle froze. “W-Well, I…”
“I can control ice magic a bit,” Baihe said.
“I… well, I’ve got this spear, and I am fast,” Kevin said.
“Light magic, mostly,” I said, revealing a small glowing sphere in my hands. “I guess you just want to make friends and seek someone your age? I suppose that’s fine then; let’s join and grow stronger together, Annabelle.”
I gave her my hand, and she felt slightly surprised. Suddenly, she blushed a bit, raising her eyebrows in surprise at my kindness.
“S-Sure…!” She nodded, smiling happily and giving me her hand.
A handshake was all I needed.
[The Effects of the [Little Sister (E): Lv5] [Charlatan (D): Lv5] and [Crafty Trickster (C): Lv2] Skills have been activated.]
[Character: Annabelle] seems to have a good impression of you.]
[She seems to be still doubting you… But deep down, another doubt over her own brother’s request has begun to blossom.]
“Let’s do our best, Annabelle; we can do it together; I’ll choose to trust you,” I said with an honest smile, giving her a brief hug without fearing the spiders that were crawling over her shoulders.
“Uwaah! A-Are you not scared of my spiders?!” She asked.
“Don’t worry about it! I’ve got myself an insect pal myself.” I said as the small Violet appeared from within my hoodie.
“Uwaah! So cuteeee!” Annabelle was suddenly charmed by Violet.
[The Effects of the [Angelic Eyes (D Rank Privilege)] [Little Sister’s Cheerful Rally (E Rank Privilege)] [Let’s be Friends! (F Rank Privilege)] and [Heartwarming Bear Hug (F-Rank Privilege)] Privileges have been activated!]
[Character: Annabelle] seems even more at ease at your side.]
[Her Trust Levels with you have increased by an additional +25% due to your Rally!]
[Your Heartwarming Hug has made her feel more at ease with her own mental issues…]
[Your Pet Violet has charmed her!]
Ladies and gentlemen, we got her.
“Alright then, let’s begin,” Baihe said, seemingly being the one most in a hurry.
“Ah, right, let me buy a few things…” I said, quickly accessing the Hunter Shop while Annabelle was playing with Violet.
[You have exchanged $500000]
[You have purchased [Swamp Snake’s Venomous Scales (D++ Rank)] x5!]
[You have exchanged $600000]
[You have purchased [Two-Headed Cyclops Snout (C- Rank)] x2!]
[You have exchanged $400000]
[You have purchased [Skin of the Snake Eater (D+++ Rank)] x4!]
[All purchased items have been automatically stored inside your Inventory.]
Alright, this should suffice.
“Huh? What are you buying?” Wondered Baihe.
“A-Ah, just some potions, that’s all~” I giggled. “Anyways! Let’s get to it.”
Henrietta quickly nodded while overseeing all the hunters, and then gave us the signal to advance.
“Have fun, make sure to be careful, and come back in time! If anything bad happens to you, your bracelets will quickly alert us of that, so we’ll make sure to go check on you.” Said Henrietta.
“Alright! I’m going to hunt a bunch of goblins!”
“I’ll get rich today, hehe."
All sorts of young hunters rushed into the Danger Zone, the ruined city, which was now covered in vegetation that had grown over it after just a few years since these places were abandoned.
Of course, I didn’t come here just to aimlessly hunt monsters. I have a goal, something within this Danger zone, that I want to find.
Something that’ll eventually pop up in this area. I’ll find it first before anybody else and get everything in there for ourselves.
“Let’s go then!” I said, rushing into the Danger Zone first.
Baihe and Annabelle quickly followed my lead as we jumped around the abandoned city and the streets. Though Kevin complained, “O-Oi! Wait a second! Who said you were the leader?!” Kevin cried, even though he was still following me around.
“Shut it. I can find monsters faster than you can anyway,” I said with a smile. “{Mana Sense}”
I expanded my senses using my own Mana, spreading over a very long distance. I quickly sensed the presence of monsters in the vicinity. There was quite a large group going around.
“Let’s move to the west; that’s where the least number of hunters are going,” I said.
And, well, it was in the direction where what I wanted to find was located.
“Alright!” Baihe nodded.
“Sure thing~!” Annabelle nodded.
“H-Hey! The west? But…!” Kevin kept complaining, but we ignored him.
We jumped around small buildings' rooftops until we finally found what we were looking for—monsters and a decently sized group at that.
Around a dozen goblins were making a scouting group, wearing rusty armor and weapons; some of their ornaments were even made up of human bones.
[You’ve detected a group of [Green Goblin Warriors (E+++ Rank)]!]
[Their leader, a [Hobgoblin Warrior (D Rank)] is beginning to sniff something off in the air.]
It looks like they might find us out if we wait too long for a perfect ambush; let’s just crush them with brute strength instead.
Now- Huh? Wait, what’s that?
Suddenly, I noticed that the Hobgoblin Warrior was wearing a strange necklace with a black-colored crystal on it, which was flowing with a dark power.
I quickly used the Eye of Truth to find out what it was.
[The [Dark Crystal Necklace (C Rank)] is reacting to the [Hobgoblin Warrior (D Rank)]. Any monster that wears this bracelet will receive a buff to their stats of +25%, while their Skill Power will be boosted by an additional +50%.]
[A Mysterious Darkness seems to be lurking within the Danger Zone, plotting something devious.]