Chapter 14: HE’S HUGGING ME!?

Denver was a tall, muscular guy. Too muscular, actually. He stood at the height of almost 200 cm, with a hulking figure. His head was bald, which suited his tanned skin. He seemed hesitant to approach Leon, but when he saw that Natasha had left, he heaved a sigh of relief and finally decided to walk over. Leon quickly noticed him, it was hard not to, and turned toward him. "Hey, buddy, what happened?" Denver was taken aback for a second, as he hadn’t expected Leon to be so friendly. He took a moment to collect himself and said, "I was just wondering if we can become friends?" Normally, Denver wouldn’t even bother mixing with anyone, as he poured his everything into getting stronger. It was also why he had practically no friends. But now someone else had popped out of nowhere and overtaken him—and by miles. Still, Denver wasn’t jealous of him. He was curious—how did Leon reach that level so quickly? Was it talent? Or hard work? He had both, so then... what was the difference between them? That was the sole reason he had approached Leon. Leon understood his thought process and was actually looking forward to meeting him. Denver was one of the most hardworking people he had ever met in both worlds, and his spirit to improve was unmatched. He liked him. So, he smiled and said, "Sure. We can even sit together in class if you want. Being the only guy here would’ve been very uncomfortable, so I appreciate your company." "Oh... that’s good. Umm, I’ll take my leave then," Denver hesitated before nodding and quietly leaving them alone. "He’ll have problems finding partners in the future. But I doubt it’s a problem for him, considering he doesn’t seem like someone who wants love," Silver said, looking at the retreating figure of Denver. Leon understood her words and even agreed. Unlike Earth, men with overly muscular physiques weren’t very popular among ladies because they believed it was a woman’s job to protect the men—so there was no need for them to build all those muscles. The most ideal type of man was someone with a lean figure and a fit body—but not too muscular. Slightly chubby ones were also liked by many, as they were seen as cute and "must-protect" material. This was the reason Leon was so popular. Along with a handsome face, he was tall with a lean figure that attracted women the most. "It doesn’t matter. He seems like a nice guy, so now he’ll be my friend," Leon said. "But it seems like he doesn’t have good communication skills." He shook his head and stood up. "Let’s go. We need to visit the market." Hearing that, Silver jumped to her feet with an excited look on her face. "Yes! I didn’t forget about our date. Let’s go!!!" Everyone gave her strange looks, but she didn’t mind it. Leon chuckled and thought, staring at her face full of smiles, ’She rarely smiled in the game... Don’t worry. I will protect this smile this time.’ --- The market was much simpler than Leon expected, and it was also less noisy since there were only Academy students here. Normally, one could just order things online and have them delivered in no time. But students still preferred to come personally to check out the products, and it also gave them some fresh air. Training and studying all day could affect one’s mental health, and in a world where corruption ran rampant, it was absolutely necessary to keep their minds in check. This was the reason Leon had come here personally—but it wasn’t entirely for himself. Silver was a prodigy and was advancing very rapidly, which meant there was a chance of Corruption accumulating inside her and affecting her mental state. Although he hadn’t written it in the game, Leon was sure that this played a crucial role in her personality change—which was why he wanted to prevent it from ever happening again. For starters, Leon just enjoyed his time with Silver—getting to know her more and bonding with her. After all, she was just a character in the game once, but here, she was a real person. "Did you see that new movie? The acting was so bad and cringe, I felt like punching the actress in the guts..." She continued to yap, and he just listened. ’Perhaps dying in the dungeon is also affecting me. I’ll need to do this more often,’ Leon smiled and suddenly grabbed her hand, making her stop in her tracks. Her mouth hung open, and her eyes couldn’t conceal the joy in her heart. She stood frozen, as if she couldn’t believe what was happening. Leon rolled his eyes and swung his arm around her neck, beginning to drag her toward the shop. This action was seen by everyone nearby, and they couldn’t help but get jealous of Silver. As for the woman in question, her brain was frying from the over-stimulation. Her mind couldn’t comprehend the situation she was in. ’W-What? He’s hugging me? HE IS HUGGING ME? NO WAY THIS IS REAL!!’ Silver screamed mentally as Leon dragged her along. ’Calm down! Calm down! You’re a woman. Get some courage, girl.’ Silver tried to calm her rapidly pounding heart, but it seemed impossible. How could she, when the love of her life was taking the initiative to be intimate with her? But she was afraid that her not responding would make Leon upset, so she took deep breaths and finally managed to calm down a little. Only then did she notice that Leon had brought her to the Wind Cloud Pavilion, which was one of the top corporations in the Artefact Industry. She turned toward Leon and asked, "Do you want to buy a weapon?" "Yup. Any suggestions?" Leon asked, as they stepped inside the tall building and were welcomed by a pretty young man. Leon tried his hardest to ignore him. Silver thought for a second and reluctantly separated from him. Then, she flicked both of her hands, and two short obsidian daggers appeared in her palms out of nowhere. "These are my lovely blades that helped me get 1st place in the rankings. Why don’t you try them and see if short daggers suit you?"