Chapter 41: Can’t Have Any Chances

Inez ignored the exchange and looked at Frey’s arms. "Big Brother Frey, what tattoo did you get? Big Brother Jet’s tattoo is so cool. I want to see yours too."

Frey glanced toward Jet for a brief moment before smiling down at her. "I’ll show you next time, okay? It’s not something I want to show off in the middle of the street."

Inez pouted, clearly dissatisfied with the answer, but eventually accepted it. "Promise?"

"Promise."

Jet watched the exchange quietly, but there was something else about Frey’s expression that he noticed. It was subtle, but the amusement in his eyes had faded for a moment.

Frey looked toward Jet.

"Actually," he said, shifting Inez slightly in his arms, "there’s something I’ve been wondering about."

Jet’s expression remained calm. "What?"

Frey glanced at Inez before looking back at him. "Why didn’t you give her a tattoo?"

The question was simple, but Jet immediately understood there was more behind it.

Frey wasn’t accusing him of anything, yet there was genuine curiosity in his eyes.

From Frey’s perspective, the situation was strange.

Jet had spent an enormous amount of money getting a tattoo before the Second Red Moon, had somehow been certain enough about the timing to complete them just before the event, and had then awakened as an S-Rank Divine Rune user.

Yet Inez, the little sister Jet was clearly obsessed with protecting, had received nothing. Frey had never asked before because there had always been something else happening, but now that they had survived their first Dungeon together, the question had finally surfaced.

Something doesn’t add up.

Frey had known Jet for years. He knew his friend’s habits, his stubbornness, his tendency to overthink everything, and his almost ridiculous protectiveness toward Inez.

If Jet genuinely believed tattoos could produce Divine Runes, why would he leave her completely untouched? Even a tiny tattoo would have been enough to give her a chance if the Red Moon truly awakened it.

Unless Jet knew something Frey didn’t.

That thought bothered him.

Jet noticed the slight shift in Frey’s eyes immediately.

He didn’t know exactly what Frey was thinking, but he knew enough to understand that his friend had started connecting pieces that didn’t make sense.

Jet could have lied. He could have said he didn’t have enough money at the time, or that Inez was too young to receive a tattoo, or that he hadn’t trusted the process.

Instead, he decided the safest answer was also the truth.

"You felt the Awakening yourself," Jet said quietly. "You know what it was like. Imagine putting Inez through that."

Frey’s expression changed and the smugness disappeared.

For a moment, his face became slightly pale, and the memory returned without permission: the Red Moon descending, the sudden pain ripping through his body, the feeling of his flesh being rewritten from the inside, the terrifying pressure of Mana forcing itself through pathways that hadn’t existed before.

He remembered thinking he was going to die. He remembered hearing people screaming outside. He remembered the helpless feeling of having absolutely no control over what was happening to him.

Frey looked down at Inez, who was still comfortably sitting in his arms, then back at Jet.

"Yeah," he said more quietly. "I understand."

Jet nodded.

Frey continued, "Even if you gave her something tiny, there was no guarantee it would awaken. The tattoo would have needed to follow the rules of the Red Moon, and there was no guarantee her body would have been capable of forming a Divine Rune from it. More importantly, if it did awaken, she’d still have to survive the synchronization process. I nearly lost my mind from the pain, and I’m eighteen. She’s seven."

He paused, his expression becoming serious. "Honestly, even if there were a chance of her getting a Rune, I don’t think I would take that gamble either."

"I wouldn’t," Jet answered immediately. "She’s my only family left. I can deal with whatever happens to me, but I can’t gamble her life on something I don’t completely understand. And even if she survived, awakening would drag her into a world she isn’t ready for. Dungeons, Mana Beasts, Raiders, Guilds, the Beyond... that’s not a life I want for a seven-year-old unless she can choose it for herself someday."

Frey nodded slowly. His earlier suspicion hadn’t completely disappeared, but the answer made sense.

More importantly, Jet’s reaction sounded exactly like the Jet he’d known for years.

"Fair enough," he said, giving Inez a small smile. "We’ll let the little princess stay a normal kid for...now."

Inez puffed her cheeks. "I’m not a baby."

Frey laughed. "Of course you’re not. You’re a terrifying little princess with my bank card."

Inez smiled proudly while Jet shook his head.

Afterward, Frey drove them home, and by the time the Vanta XR-9 stopped outside their apartment building, the sun had begun dropping behind the city skyline.

Jet opened the passenger door and helped Inez out while Frey remained behind the wheel.

Before they parted, Jet leaned slightly toward the open window. "We should meet in the Beyond tomorrow. We need to figure out what we’re doing next instead of wandering around until something tries to eat us."

Frey nodded. "Agreed. It’ll be easy enough. Since we’re both in Zenith City, our Descent should place us in the same general Beyond region. Awakeners from the same real-world region can descend into the corresponding regional area, so we won’t have to search an entire world for each other."

Jet considered it before nodding. "Then let’s meet at a Citadel. There’s probably only one major Citadel serving the Zenith City region anyway. The Zenith Citadel should be the easiest place to find each other, and it’ll give us somewhere safe to discuss our next move."

Frey agreed immediately. "Tomorrow, then. No rushing tonight. We just cleared a Dungeon, sold a mountain of materials, and nearly got buried by a bell-wielding psychopath. I’m going home, eating something expensive, and sleeping."

Jet smiled. "For once, that’s actually a good plan."

They exchanged a quick dap before Frey pulled the car away from the curb. Jet stood beside Inez and watched the Vanta XR-9 accelerate down the road, its engine roaring like some mechanical beast before the midnight-purple car disappeared into traffic.

He let out a long breath, then looked down at Inez, who was still staring at the bank card in her hand with a smile that suggested she was already planning how to spend every cent.

Jet shook his head.

"Let’s go."