Bab 22: Bloody Virtue (2)

At that moment, Skyler exploded. She stood up suddenly before screaming, "Oh, please stop now!"

Malcom and Mabel looked at her in surprise.

"What did I come here for? To witness these stupid things? Can you behave like an adult?" Skyler could not help but question. She hated the fact that the other two were talking as if she did not exist in the room at all.

Mabel glanced at her with narrowed eyes, "Are you yelling at me, girl?" she asked seriously.

Just as Mabel spoke, something strange happened at that precise moment. Aside from the temperature of the room heightening, Malcom and Skyler felt an invisible pressure enveloping them fast.

There was a foreboding feeling of danger, which immediately made them feel threatened. However, they were unable to move. The thought of not being able to protect themselves made their hearts beat fast due to fear.

Skyler felt chills run down her spine, despite the room getting hotter by the second. Her hands froze on her desk as if it was her only way to feel support.

The room took on a red hue for both of them, and the rest of the colors were swallowed by Mabel's fixed eyes.

Skyler could not speak. Her mouth was dry, and her hands were sweating like hell.

She was clutching to the chair as if she didn't hold it meant dying immediately. As the temperature changed further, her body suffocated even more under Mabel's presence.

The latter was looking at her with an expression that caused uncontrollable tremors in the girl's legs.

And suddenly, Mabel snorted before looking at them with a cocky grin.

"Because it was about time for you to come here," by saying this, everything returned to normal, "You little mage, always so rigid. It was time for you to relax a bit."

Skyler sat down again, now she was sweating intensely, and the tremors had returned to her hands. Her gaze was clouded, and she made a hard inhuman effort not to direct her eyes towards Mabel.

Little by little, her heart returned to its usual rhythm, and her breathing was rhythmic. For a minute panic had seized her when she felt the bloodlust of a Virtue.

Malcom no longer spoke.

That experience had not been the first for him, who looked at Mabel with disapproval. Mabel just winked at him in response.

The young man thought about how that feeling drained a regular mage's sanity. That feeling of pressure reminded him of the huge gap of difference between a Virtue and them.

"Here is your payment and the address of the dungeon that just appeared. The payment will be the same. I want you to go tomorrow. You have seven days before your next fight. This is a trip of two. You'll be fine," Mabel said smilingly. She looked in a very good mood.

Malcom resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her in disdain. He had known Mabel for a while now, but it still ticks him off when she was flaunting dominance using her powerful magic.

Nevertheless, he already got what he needed.

Malcom got up without saying anything, took the money and information from the dungeon.

He then placed his hand over Skyler's shoulder before speaking softly, "Hey, let's go."

Skyler came out of the strange trance she was still in, and bowing her head, she stood up.

But just as they were about to step out of the room, "I haven't spoken to Skyler yet," Mabel said playfully.

Despite Mabel's tone not giving off any threat, Skyler still flinched when she heard it.

Malcom looked at Mabel again disapprovingly. He felt bad for Skyler at this time. Mabel was clearly toying with the young woman.

The Virtue suddenly laughed, "Why are you both so tense?" She asked before waving her hand, gesturing for them to go, "Fine. It's not that important anyway. We will talk about it on her next visit. Goodbye."

With that, Malcom and Skyler felt released. They both released a heavy sigh when the door for Mabel's office was closed.

When going down the stairs of the house, the dreams were not there.

At the front door, Ian and Natalie were standing with expressions of fear and confusion.

When they noticed them approaching, Ian and Natalie looked at Skyler's face with unmasked interest.

Skyler lowered her gaze to the ground to hide her embarrassment.

"Did you piss her off?" Ian said curiously.

Malcom shook his head and said softly, "It's that wit…" he halted, then cleared his throat, "I mean, that woman's sadistic desire to play with people. She just wanted to scare Skyler."

And it was obvious that she had succeeded.

The girl was so shocked that she could barely walk calmly, her arms were constantly shaking, and she was staring at the floor without stopping.

Malcom walked behind her a bit and gave her room.

"Did you feel it too?" Skyler suddenly asked. Her voice was so soft as if she was completely weak and defeated.

"Of course," Malcom immediately replied. He shrugged his shoulders before continuing, "But she was completely focused on you. So I felt the meager part of her power."

"I thought she would murder me. And the worst thing is that if she had tried, I could not have done anything!" Skyler blurted out, feeling helpless. Her expression said the same as well.

"It's not true," Malcom said, walking to stand in front of the young woman, "Of course you would move. That's how the self-preservation instinct works."

"Don't lie to yourself or to me," Skyler argued, "I know you have more experience than me, but I'm not an idiot that can't be overcome with self-preservation instinct, and you know it. You don't have to protect me from the truth."

Malcom nodded and smiled, "You are much tougher than you seem."

"Are you going to a dungeon tomorrow?" Skyler asked, very serious.

Malcom nodded, "Yeah, I have to. That's how it is for me."

"You are a treasure hunter," She said, more like a statement than a question. "That's why you have more experience in combat."

"Yeah," Malcom answered.

"I will go with you," Skyler sounded determined.

Malcom halted on his steps. He then glanced at Skyler with furrowed brows, confused.

"What? Why would you do something like that?" He questioned unhappily.

"It is clear that my training method has flaws!" Skyler said. She was talking more to herself than Malcom."

"Aha. So you want a field trip cause of it?" Malcom asked, laced with sarcasm.

She glared at him, "No. I want to try your training."

"And what has that to do with me?" Malcom asked with a forced smile.

"Regardless of how much Mabel pays you, I will do the same as well if you let me go with you!"

Malcom was surprised. He was speechless, he looked at the young woman's serious expression, and her arms no longer trembled.

He kept silent. His expression was clearly going to refuse. Why not? Skyler might be a strong mage, but arena fights were on a different scale compared to real-life battles at the end of the day.

There was no reset button if she died under his watch.

"I'll pay you, double... Please!" Skyler added when she saw him shook his head.

Malcom snorted and looked at the sky.

He then released a heavy sigh before his gaze shifted back to the fiercely determined woman.

"Well, you made me unable to refuse that offer. But remember, this is not a game!" He said seriously. In fact, he regretted it immediately.

Not giving him the chance to further talk, Skyler turned her back on him and started to walk.

"It stopped being a game when I lost!" She said before riding her family's transporter.