"What the hell is going on?"
Donald took a few steps, his brow furrowed.
Being targeted by a supernatural, especially one with such mysterious abilities, was hardly a pleasant experience.
"You've seen supernatural powers before, so you weren't surprised?"
Sulu stared at Donald, speaking with certainty.
"I've heard one of my professors talk about this sort of thing!"
Donald didn't deny it. "Was it after you?"
"Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows?" Sulu shrugged.
The shadow couldn't talk, anyway. He wasn't about to take the blame himself.
"I can't believe... even St. George University has supernaturals..." Donald murmured.
"That's normal, isn't it?"
Thinking of Dawn of Gods, which Rhode had mentioned, Sulu said deliberately.
"I knew it..." Donald's expression changed. "You're part of that circle. At the very least, you've had contact with it!"
"Heh..." Sulu gave him a vague answer. "What are you planning to do about tonight?"
Given Donald's status and abilities, he might really have had contact with the supernatural world.
"That shadow hurt me and expected me to act like nothing happened?!"
Donald's face darkened. For an instant, he had truly felt the threat of death. "We have to hit back hard! But... since our enemy is supernatural, we need a perfect plan. For instance... we could find a lead and hand it over to the police!"
Sulu nodded woodenly. "I won't let her off either!"
"The attacker was a woman?" Donald's expression shifted. "If you're going to make a move... perhaps we can work together and share the secret of becoming a supernatural!"
At last, Donald openly admitted to Sulu that he wanted to become supernatural.
"Are you... in too much of a hurry?" Sulu asked curiously.
"Things are different when our interests are at odds. I... want to become supernatural! And I need to do it fast!" Donald clenched his fist, as though he were hiding some secret.
"Good. What resources do you have? We might be able to work something out!"
Sulu agreed at once.
Although Donald wasn't as good at fighting as he was, he was already among the best of ordinary people. Besides, as president of the university Combat Club, he had a much wider network than Sulu. He might be able to offer some help.
"From the way you put it, it sounds like you already have someone in mind?" Donald's eyes lit up.
"I do!" Sulu didn't deny it. "I have a few suspects. What are you planning to do?"
"I'll need some time to prepare!"
Donald wasn't going to make a decision about something this important on the spot. After arranging to meet again the next day, he politely took his leave and hurried off.
Sulu watched him go, his gaze growing pensive.
Honestly, if not for what had happened with Beatrice, Sulu would have called in the authorities already.
The business card left by Marilyn, the policewoman he'd met last time, had an address on it.
'Although she's interested in finding Beatrice, surely she can't ignore an attempted murder case? I just need to get my wording straight with Donald.'
Taking on two female spellcasters by himself would be foolish.
When there was a problem, going to the police was the right way to solve it.
As for him? He could follow along quietly and pick up the scraps. He could also take the chance to see the Federation's true strength.
But there was one key issue: Beatrice!
No one else knew, but both he and the witch knew Beatrice had died in a booth at the White Tower Cafe!
If the witch fell into police custody and talked, he'd be behind bars the very next day!
'So even if I enlist the authorities, I still have to silence her? Or... should Donald and I handle this ourselves?'
'But... as I am now, I'm probably no match for any witch who's had time to prepare!'
No... she had only manipulated shadows. She might not know Beatrice was already dead. Compared with the risks, going to the police was still safer.
Earlier, he might have seemed as fierce as a tiger, but in truth he'd simply caught her off guard. He'd used Tiger Power to break free of the shadows, then relied on his high Spirit to resist her mental pressure.
Once she recovered and made preparations, Sulu thought his chances of losing were high.
The fact that even the system hadn't given him any Experience Points showed that it had judged the fight a draw at best. He was still too weak.
So, desperate for more power, he turned his attention to the Attribute Panel:
Name: [Sulu Portley]
Class: [None]
Rank: [0]
Title: [None]
Strength: [1.3](1.5), Agility: [1.2], Constitution: [0.8](1.0), Spirit: [1.6]
Skills: [Corpse Maiden Creation LV1], [Krav Maga Combat Arts LV4]
Passives: [Common Hebraic LV3], [Basic Physics LV4], [Demon Hunting Lore LV1], [Ancient Hebraic LV2]
XP: [90]
Status: Weakness
90 Experience Points!
They included what he'd earned from killing rats in the sewers and from defeating Donald just now. It was the most Experience Points Sulu had ever gained.
Not only did [Krav Maga Combat Arts LV4] have a plus sign, indicating it could be upgraded, but so did [Corpse Maiden Creation LV1].
'Finally... I can guess what comes next for Krav Maga Combat Arts: it'll probably add 0.1 to Constitution and Strength. But what about a spell skill? Will it increase my Spirit?'
Since it cost more Experience Points than a combat skill, it ought to come with a surprise.
With some trepidation, Sulu clicked the plus sign after [Corpse Maiden Creation LV1].
[90 Experience Points consumed. Corpse Maiden Creation LV1 upgraded to ??? Ding!... Corpse Maiden Creation LV1 requires the prerequisite class Doom-Bringer and Spirit of 2.0 to upgrade!... Conditions not met! Upgrade failed!]
"What?"
Sulu's heart jolted. He looked at the Experience Bar and saw that all 90 Experience Points had been returned. He breathed a sigh of relief, though his expression turned serious.
'Even if I can exploit the Attribute Panel to learn certain truly supernatural skills at first, I'll hit a bottleneck when I try to upgrade them!'
'There are still many secrets hidden along the path of the classes... But the Attribute Panel can do more than I expected.'
Although the upgrade had failed, Sulu was still pleasantly surprised.
The Attribute Panel had revealed quite a bit of information.
For example, [Corpse Maiden Creation] was entirely a skill belonging to necromantic spellcasters. At higher levels, upgrading it required the prerequisite class [Doom-Bringer], along with a certain level of Spirit.
'That means... if I ever get a skill book that no one else can learn, I can use the system to uncover its secrets.'
Since he couldn't upgrade his spell skill, Sulu invested his Experience Points in Krav Maga Combat Arts without hesitation.
[80 Experience Points consumed... Krav Maga Combat Arts upgraded to LV5! Constitution +0.5, Strength +0.5, Agility +0.1!]
'80 Experience Points? Does the cost of upgrading combat arts double with each level?'
Sulu had been prepared for that.
The increase to his Agility, on the other hand, was a pleasant little surprise.
Perhaps if he trained his combat arts to their peak, he could break through the bottleneck of his rank and enter the true realm of the supernatural!
Before you continue