Chapter 254: The Hidden Contestant

The message about needing to drink blood so soon couldn’t have come at a worse time. It made Erin wonder why she had to feed when, just yesterday, she drank blood.

’System, what’s going on?’ Erin asked.

"I believe that’s the blood addiction that Fex tried to warn you about," the system responded, "You did drink a large volume of blood in quick succession yesterday."

’I thought I’d get a direct message telling me I got addicted...’ Erin clenched her blankets tightly, ’But this is a major problem.’

As much as Erin wanted to get mad at the system, she knew she needed a solution. She could drink someone’s blood now and not have to worry about getting hurt during the rescue attempt, or avoid blood for the time being until she truly needed it.

’I can’t take that risk, I need to get blood now,’ Erin decided.

She sent a message to Vorden to meet up. A few minutes later, Vorden knocked on the door rapidly, and she let him in.

"What’s the problem?" Vorden asked quickly.

There was an edge of nervousness to his voice, one that he didn’t usually have. Erin assumed it had to do with Quinn, so she didn’t question it.

"I need you to give me your blood," Erin stated bluntly.

Vorden was staring off into the distance, lost in thought, before he remembered she was talking to him. "Huh— What— Yeah, uh. Do you need me to put it in a cup, or...?"

"A cup will do," Erin said, then grabbed one from the cabinet.

Using a kitchen knife, they cut Vorden’s arm, and squeezed out enough blood to create what was effectively a shot. She downed it, and a few system messages popped up.

[Your hunger has decreased]

[You will no longer lose HP]

"Is that everything you need my help with?" Vorden asked, rubbing his arm. He may want to get a regeneration ability later.

Erin considered this, "I was thinking of getting a new sword so that they’re less likely to think it’s me. Your ability works on touch, correct? We can take this opportunity to get useful abilities."

Under normal circumstances, Vorden would’ve agreed without hesitation, but with the warning from his brother that his other family members were around, it made him second guess it.

’But if anything happens to Quinn, then Sil will be distraught,’ Vorden said in his mind.

"And if you get caught, that’ll make Sil worse," Raten reminded him.

It was a difficult decision, something Vorden was getting used to.

—

Layla stayed still in her room for quite a long time, not getting a wink of sleep.

It wasn’t because the stress of the next day was giving her insomnia, but rather, because she was an evolved undead. Sleep was something she didn’t need anymore.

As a result, she had a lot of time to herself, alone with her thoughts.

’In the past, I have been picked on due to my ability level, but yesterday was the worst its been,’ Layla said in her mind, ’Its making me lose my focus.’

Controlling both herself and another person at the same time wasn’t easy. It required her to multitask the actions of two bodies, herself and Luke. While she could control both to do simple actions like walking around easy enough, she couldn’t imagine what it’d be like to control multiple bodies in a fight, especially knowing she had the power to possess up to 5 bodies.

Thankfully, Luke’s body remained in his room, so Layla could concentrate fully on herself for the time being.

With some time to kill, Layla took out her bow, and left for the archery practice section. It was quite early in the morning, so it would be a few hours before the tournament officially started.

One of the things Layla wanted to try out was to practice using her bow with her new body, as well as see just how strong she’d gotten. Things like draw strength were important to keep in mind, and she’d rather not break the weapon Erin got her.

In the middle of her shooting, she heard a voice call out in her direction.

"Hey, didn’t expect you to be up so early."

She turned around, and saw Nate, the second year who helped her out.

"I actually wanted to ask you a question yesterday, but forgot," Nate said, "Do you know anyone who goes by ’IceQueen’? She uses a sword, and she’s incredibly beautiful."

At that moment, Layla fired an arrow, missing her target by a foot.

’That’s the name of Erin’s Power Fighters username,’ Layla thought, ’He doesn’t seem to have noticed my distraction, which makes me think he is either unobservant, or trying to get my guard down.’

Layla was wary of those who were high leveled and oddly nice to her. Not only did Pure instilled this into her, but also Erin’s experiences with Luke reinforced it.

Because of that, she kept quiet about IceQueen’s true identity.

"...No," Layla said, nocking another arrow and hitting it on the bullseye.

Nate sighed, dejected, "I should’ve known... Which means you wouldn’t know about SnackyDemon either."

Layla’s face kept neutral, her expression as stiff as a board, but that made her nearly drop her next arrow.

"I don’t know about this ’SnackyDemon’ either," Layla said, then a thought entered her mind.

Putting on a curious tone, Layla asked, "Why are you being nice to me?"

Nate assumed Layla was referring to yesterdays events where he defended her from the second years. While that was partially true, she was also testing his reaction.

"Why not? Just because we’re high levels doesn’t mean we should bully those who are weaker," Nate said with pride, "If anything, doing that prevents them from getting strong themselves. Imagine how many fun fights I could’ve had if we taught the low levels instead of abandoning them."

From the corner of her eye, Layla analyzed Nate for any tells that he was lying, but he seemed genuine.

Placing her bow and arrow back on her person, Layla had a favor of her own to ask.

"The truth is, I am looking for someone myself. I haven’t seen him at all this entire trip despite knowing he’s a contestant," Layla said, "Since we’re both looking for someone, how about we look together?"

"Of course!" Nate said eagerly, "What does he look like?"

"Black curly hair, warm light skin, acne, blue glasses, scrawny—" Layla then remembered Quinn’s recent workout sessions, and corrected herself, "Toned body type, and a first year."

Nate stared, a little dumbfounded. If he didn’t know better, it was like Layla listed off items on a shopping list rather than a human person.

’Where was that sweet girl from yesterday?’

"Uh, I don’t really have much to go off of," Nate said, "IceQueen is someone I met online, so I really only have her Power Fighters image. I’m just sure she’s beautiful, the way she fought made my heart—"

"Let’s get back on topic," Layla quickly interrupted.

The two searched around the training center, asking those around if they knew anyone that fit Quinn’s description, or someone who’s username was "IceQueen." Although Layla was sure that Quinn wasn’t kept in the same contestant room as everyone else, that didn’t mean that others couldn’t have seen him, or heard rumors of his whereabouts.

’Where else could he have gone?’

Just then, they heard the sound of someone teleporting in, and the two turned to see a pair of soldiers holding a boy by the shoulders. Despite looking beaten and exhausted, Layla knew who it was.

"Quinn."