Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Doubts, Suspicion, Uncertainty

Almond’s brows creased upon seeing the girl.

"Natalia…"

She was his classmate.

"Oh, so you’re him," Natalia heaved a sigh of relief before she approached him, "Have you seen Jacob and others? He told me we would meet up near the Goblin Colony when we met earlier. I think only Jacob’s group, you, me, and Lily spawned in this area. The other classmates must have spawned at other starting areas."

Almond’s hand holding his staff clenched, but his expression remained slightly frowning as he shook his head, "I haven’t seen them."

He glanced around Natalia and asked, "Are you alone?"

"Hell no. I’m with Lily. She got a powerful Phantom Thief class, so she has concealed herself near the Goblin Colony to be on the lookout and scout it. Anyway, you seem…pretty good. What’s with the wolves?" Natalia looked at two ghostly wolves with a metallic sheen in front of Almond in surprise.

’She is with Lily? That’s bad.’

"It’s my skill," Almond flatly replied before saying, "Anyway, I’m going to find some Dire Wolves to kill and level up. Bye."

’I guess Goblin Colony is canceled since Lily is there.’

’But Natalia won’t be suspicious, right?’ Almond thought as he couldn’t help but feel apprehensive.

’She saw me…and if she thinks a bit more, I came from the same direction where Jacob and others were, according to her.’

’Normally speaking, there’s a high chance for us to meet given that the starting area is not big and it’s not as thick with trees,’ Almond thought while walking past Natalia.

’Good thing she is stupid, I hope. But should I really just walk away from her? What if…’

"Wait, Almond. You came from the Goblin Settlement, right? Jacob and others were also there, though," Natalia rubbed her chin with a confused expression. "Where the hell did they go? Did you see any signs of them going anywhere?"

Almond cursed internally as he turned around and shook his head at her, "No, but I can’t be sure since I didn’t pay attention to that kind of stuff. I skipped the Goblin Settlement area and directly walked here. As you can see, I am just level 2."

"Urghh, fine. It’s over an hour, and we haven’t even done much," Natalia wryly smiled before she asked, "But since you are here and I am tired of waiting, how about we three work together to clear the Goblin Colony?"

’But I don’t want to show you my skills!’ Almond annoyingly thought. ’Fuck it. I’ll have to wing it by using the two Wolf Spirits and my holy staff. Goblin Colony is a good place to earn EXP.’

’I shouldn’t revert wolves back to the weapon form. I have to keep this a secret until I decide what to show for my class to others.’

Almond didn’t want to create a hassle, so he agreed, and the duo silently walked toward the spot where Lily was hiding.

"That furry coat looks pretty good," Lily said as she emerged from conceal. ’So he is Almond? His eyes are indeed as beautiful as rumored.’

She was covered in a sleek black ninja-like robe, and only her beautiful dark blue eyes were visible to others.

’I didn’t sense her until she spoke,’ Almond thought as he looked at the black-haired beauty with a slender figure and ample bosom, looking sexy yet deadly in that outfit.

’She is prepared. That outfit is definitely a magic item.’

[Lily Darkwood]

-Adventurer rank: Bronze.

-Level: 5

-Class: Phantom Thief—(?)

’Did she kill some level 6 Wandering Trolls around here? They are the only ones around here that can make you reach level 5 aside from Goblins in the colony.’

’Her class is of S-rank, from what I’ve heard. Her stats should be high since she is level 5. That’s 15 stat points from level up…not to mention her combat ability that’s best in the academy.’

Almond glanced at Lily and Natalia as the trio walked towards the Goblin Colony with him in the middle.

’What should I do? Lily is not as stupid as Natalia.’

Natalia was chubby in the right areas and a beauty of the class. However, Lily was considered the top beauty of the Frostar City Academy and also the most powerful student in it.

She was already scouted by one of the globally renowned guilds—League of Firefly, one of the top 10 most powerful guilds in the world.

On top of that, her background was also powerful.

Her father and mother were in the GAA branch in Frostar City. They were not just normal staff members but the Frostar City’s Global Adventurers Association Branch President and Branch Commander!

Both were strong adventurers, but her father was the Branch Commander, meaning that he was one of the strongest adventurers in Frostar city like Jacob’s father, who was a Guild Leader of the strongest guild in the city.

With Lily entering the League of Firefly, her parents’ influence and power were bound to grow further in the Frostar city.

’Jacob’s father can easily talk with Lily’s parents and launch an investigation unless he has a bad relationship with GAA’s top brass. But even so, he can still use his influence and money to get help.’

’If Lily or Natalia mention me, I will come into his radar.’

’No. In fact, he’ll be suspicious of me because there’s no other suspicious element aside from me. We just entered the Labyrinth, and their first meeting was with me. Nobody would see them afterward because they are dead! Their bodies are in Goblin Settlement, though they will be eaten after three days once new Goblins spawn, but still...’

’With his people, he can easily find out that I was getting bullied by them sometimes, which also gives me a good reason to kill them after gaining power.’

’A result of power trip.’

Almond’s eyes glinted, ’But they killed me, so I simply paid back. And I won’t let myself get caught, no matter what!’

"Almond, there’s a pack of wolves over there. Since you’re just level 2, why don’t you kill them and gain a level or two?" Lily said as she pointed her dagger at a cave to the east of Goblin Colony.

The cave was small, and there was rough grassless ground outside, perfect for wolves to rest with stones and boulders around it.

The river stream was also not far, as one could hear the sound of it flowing down from the mountain.

"Alright, I’ll be back."

"No, we are coming. We’ll watch from behind and be on the lookout," Lily said, her sapphire blue eyes looking at him.

"Fine," Almond flatly replied before he walked towards them.

"Almond, are you always this boring? Even the way you speak is boring," Natalia chuckled. "No wonder you get bu-"

Lily glanced at her, but Natalia also realized she was about to say something bad, so she stopped.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Almond didn’t bother replying and continued walking silently before stopping behind a tree. The cave was twenty meters away on open ground near the mountain’s base area, and this was the last tree to hide.

"Wait a second. I want to assign my stat points."

"Alright," Lily nodded.