It was silent. The lights were turned off, and only the sound of a ticking clock filled the spacious hospital room. Jay gazed out of the window, while Luna took a nap on a mattress they borrowed from the hospital. Her spear—which the staff brought up along with Erik's weapon—was right beside her.
Now, it had been almost an hour since The Messenger disappeared.
"You think you can handle this?" Jay asked, his gaze still directed at the sky, which was about to turn completely dark.
"Most of the enemies will most likely just be some beginners, so no worries there." Erik replied. He relaxed in a chair as he was analyzing their current situation.
Their current quest was to protect their territory for three nights from other Challengers. In this case, territory meant the ownership of something. It could be a place, an object, or something else. But once it was claimed by an enemy, they would fail the quest. According to the Supervisor, the enemies were only allowed to attack them during the night and when a certain signal was given. That meant that the trio could at least rest during the day.
"If only this had happened two—no... one—week later, then I could help, too...!" Jay grumbled, gripping the ends of his sheets tightly in frustration. In his state, he could barely walk on his own and was therefore forced to stay in bed, becoming a liability for the party.
"Just rest for now, man." Erik sighed, grinning at Jay both confidently and teasingly.
"You only need to make sure not to get claimed, [The Jay Family]'s territory." he added as he got up from the chair.
It was decided that the bedridden Jay would be their 'territory'. They had pondered whether they should make a place or an object, but Luna had come up with an absurd idea no one would realize immediately—making a person a territory. And since Jay could not do anything for this quest, he was perfect for the role.
"Once she wakes up, tell her not to be too nervous. If the situation becomes too dangerous, I'll rush to you." Erik declared before he left the room. Right after they had finished planning their strategy for the first night, Erik had told Luna to take a nap, so that she would not get tired during the actual night.
Erik's smile disappeared the moment he closed the door behind him. Even though he reassured Jay, saying that he would be fine on his own, he was still vigilant. The trio received the quest to protect, and since there were clearly enemies, it would not be far-fetched to say that those enemies were Challengers whose quest was to claim the trio's territory.
Those Challengers might have been mostly newbies, but their numbers could easily exceed any calculations Erik had been making. The Tutorial Section was home to the most beginners inside the tower, so it was like keeping bees away from honey while standing inside a beehive.
It was the first night, and it did not make it easier that they had received their quest so suddenly. However, there was no time to complain. The only thing the trio could do was to adapt to the situation by the minute. While Erik was confronting the enemies at the hospital's entrance, Luna acted as Jay's bodyguard if someone were to manage to get past Erik's defense. And fortunately, Luna had just bought a phone with Jay, allowing them to communicate easily.
Erik almost arrived at the entrance. Thanks to Alice's influence, the whole hospital staff did their best to support the party despite being non-combatants. At Erik's words, they barricaded the other entrances of the hospital and would inform him if people were able to get through them.
"It's you people again, huh?" Scarlet huffed, annoyed. The police were also there, protecting the innocent people inside the hospital. Since Erik informed Alice about their predicament, Alice managed to convince Scarlet to lend them a hand just in time for the start of the first night.
"Sorry for the trouble." Erik apologized, his awkward smile being the best thing he could offer to her.
"If it were not for Miss Alice asking me to help you, then I would have joined the other side." she chuckled before she and her subordinates went to their assigned spots.
"If that were the case, I would be in big trouble." Erik joked.
"Spare me those lies." Scarlet sighed.
"You can't fool me anymore. Someone of your caliber would-"
"Please resume your duties, Captain Scarlet." Erik cut her off, his index finger pressing against his lips. Although he was still smiling, his eyes definitely were not.
"Once this is over, we will treat you to something nice as thanks for everything you did for us." he said, waving his hand as he headed out.
Scarlet wore a stern expression. Normally, Scarlet would be quite grumpy after being ordered to help random people with their quests, but when Alice mentioned that said team was that trio, Scarlet agreed firmly.
Some might have thought that she was doing it for personal reasons, but they could not be more wrong. What drove Scarlet to observe Erik and the others so intently was just her sheer sense of justice. As a captain of the Kilgen Police Force, she saw it as her duty to investigate Erik and the people around him since their first meeting. From her perspective, Erik and Jay were irregulars—Challengers who did not fit the typical image of a Challenger in the Tutorial Section. Whereas Erik possessed strength surpassing his peers by far, Jay had a mysterious air around him. It was as if the closer one got to Jay, the more distanced he appeared.
And as a policewoman, she could not allow irregularities to run wild in the Tutorial Section until she could confirm their intentions and whether they could end up as a threat to the people or not.
"What room was he in now...?" she muttered pensively. While her subordinates protected the doors of the other patients, Scarlet headed to the hospital section with the VIP patients—right where Jay was resting.
She had enough information about Erik for now, no longer requiring her to observe him that closely. Therefore, she switched her target, which meant that it was Jay's turn now. Between those two, it was the most difficult to get something on Jay, but thanks to the spontaneous call of Alice, she was given the perfect opportunity to get closer to him.
She did not attempt to leave empty-handed and wanted to at least get her hands on Jay's status window. And even if it was seen as rude, if she had to use [Appraisal] without his consent, then she would do it.
In the meantime, Erik was waiting outside, tapping his staff lightly against his shoulder. Ignoring the cold, Erik noticed the presence of a few people hiding behind some buildings a short distance away from him.
"Seems like they already searched for information..." Erik muttered, impressed by the groundwork they did. It had been just a day since their fight against the mutation, and because none of their party blurted out the information about their current stay at the hospital, one would have needed the help of the information brokers of the Nerkz Family.
It was truly impressive for beginners to already use the help of the Nerkz Family. But still, they were beginners—nothing Erik was afraid of.
[Protect your territory.]
A simple and blunt message suddenly popped up in front of them, and based on the fact that the hidden people took their first steps, the sudden window message was meant to be the signal for the start of the first night.
"If possible, I wanted to rest, too..." Erik complained, shaking his head. The pain he felt was far more intense than muscle soreness. But luckily, he could already move compared to Jay.
The first wave of enemies consisted of a dozen nervous Challengers. Holding cheap and battered weapons close to their bodies, they slowly approached Erik.
"Team C infiltrated the apartment, but nothing happened!"
"Team F also reported that nothing changed when they entered the café!"
"Same for Team H! Nothing unusual in Luna Park's dorm room!"
Erik overheard those in the back exchanging information.
"Teams...? And those places..." Erik muttered, trying to figure out what they meant. However, it did not take long for him to come to a realization.
"I see... So you did your homework on everything, huh?"
With a grin, Erik also began to move toward them, making them flinch. Apparently, the enemies split up into multiple teams, with certain teams inspecting the places the trio frequented a lot: Erik and Jay's apartment, Luna's room in the Rookie Dorms, and even the café where Erik met up with his broker from time to time.
But as they had predicted, they took the meaning of territory too literally, as they had only looked for places.
"Team H... So there are at least seven teams, huh?"
Erik pointed his staff at the anxious Challengers.
"This will be a long night."