The next morning, "vrrrt," the smartphone in his pants pocket vibrated again. He pulled it out and looked; a group message with only four people—Gary, Olivia, Daisy, and himself—was buzzing nonstop. Gary was reminding them to gather at the gym after school because Steve had requested it the night before. The goal was to have their awakened powers inspected by Hunter Guild representatives coming to the school specifically for that purpose. Dennis turned to look at Daisy, who was also reading her own phone.
"Turns out Mr. Steve works pretty fast," Dennis said.
"He's still an active hunter assigned to teach here, so it's natural he's quick," Daisy replied.
"Hmm... that's true," Dennis muttered.
"Are you sure we'll be okay?" Daisy asked, looking at Dennis.
"It'll be fine, trust me," Dennis answered, smiling as he looked back at her.
Dennis opened his Monitor Roster skill interface. Unlike Analyze, which was only used to peek at the abilities or status of friends or foes, Monitor Roster could manage members already in a party, even if they were far apart from each other and him.
This skill could summon members to Dennis wherever they were, allow long-distance communication like using a smartphone, hide abilities to make them immune to being Analyzed during matches or party battles, relocate members, and even send supplies—like if they ran out of ammo or needed stamina and health potions.
The interface looked just like a menu from a common MMORPG, which Dennis understood perfectly since the layout was exactly like the game Eclipse Saga, where you could form parties with NPCs, not just fellow players. He had tested it on Daisy last night; he purposely left the apartment and went downstairs, then summoned Daisy, who suddenly appeared next to him like she had teleported.
However, since Daisy numbers one through seven were fundamentally the same person, Dennis couldn't specifically summon one of the seven registered versions. But when it came to hiding skills or stats, he could hide all seven. After reading the messages during dinner last night, Dennis had already set it so that the abilities of Daisy two through seven were hidden.
He tested it by hiding the abilities of the first Daisy—the standard NPC version—then used his Analyze skill on her. All that popped up on the interface was her name, with no other information following it. Additionally, Dennis set a rule that Daisy numbers two through seven were not to come out in public places like school for safety. Luckily, the six dangerous entities inside Daisy all agreed, which made Dennis breathe a sigh of relief.
As they walked, Dennis took Daisy's hand and squeezed it since she seemed quiet.
"Don't worry about it, just stay calm," Dennis murmured with a smile.
"I will, honey. I trust you," Daisy replied, returning his smile.
Suddenly, "slap," someone smacked Dennis's back. He turned to see Gary standing there, staring at him.
"You always walk right in the middle of the path, man. I don't get you," Gary said, grinning.
"Uh... that's normal. I can't walk on the edge; you're not allowed to step on the grass," Dennis shot back with a smile.
Dennis glanced behind Gary. As usual, his friends and girl followers were trailing him, but he didn't see Olivia anywhere.
"You're alone? Not with Olivia?" Dennis asked.
"Nah, we head to school separately. I've got my friends, she's got hers, so... that's just how it is," Gary answered casually.
"Poor Olivia," Daisy chimed in.
"Poor nothing. She's the one who made that rule; I just follow it. Whoa... you two are wearing rings again?" Gary asked, glancing at Dennis and Daisy's hands.
"Yep, we're wearing rings now," Daisy answered, lifting her hand while still holding Dennis's, showing off the rings circling their ring fingers to Gary.
"Alright, I'm heading out first. Don't forget after school, later. Ciao," Gary said.
Without waiting for a reply, Gary walked off, and of course, his followers followed immediately without acknowledging Dennis or Daisy. When they reached the classroom, Daisy gave Dennis a kiss as usual before walking to her own class next door. Dennis walked inside and immediately felt a sharp gaze directed at him. He saw Bella staring at him with a haughty expression, looking like she was chewing on something, even though she was with others of her own kind.
Dennis glanced briefly just to see who was watching him, then walked casually to his seat without looking back at all. He stood at his desk comfortably, but suddenly, "slam," someone slammed their hand on his desk. Dennis, already knowing who it was, glanced to the side to see the girl standing next to his desk.
"So you really are Dennis, huh? I heard you've awakened and turned out like this. Why did you stay quiet yesterday and not explain anything to me, hah?" Bella said curtly.
Dennis turned back to look forward. He took a book out of his bag and casually placed it on the desk, then he grabbed his smartphone and leaned back in his chair, completely ignoring Bella and acting cold toward her without changing his expression one bit.
"Hey... answer me. What is this? You're giving me the silent treatment? You're gonna ignore me like that? Who do you think you are? Don't get cocky just because you turned handsome and hot; you're still beneath me," Bella said, baiting him.
Dennis didn't take the bait at all. His face remained calm, and he even smiled as he looked at his smartphone because he was chatting with Daisy in the next class and typing back his reply. Bella's face turned red seeing him ignore her, but just as she opened her mouth, her arm was suddenly pulled. Two girls of her same species pulled her back.
"What gives!" Bella shouted.
"Hey... don't you know? Yesterday he almost trashed Jason because Jason was spreading photos. He's always been quiet when he was still ugly, and usually, when a quiet person gets angry, it's dangerous. You're better off dropping it... didn't you see his build? One hit and you're dead," one of the girls said.
"Yeah, she's right. I saw it yesterday; I was in the class when it happened," the other girl added.
"Hah... him? He's a chicken. Forget people, he'd let a mosquito suck his blood without killing it. He's got no guts. Let me go," Bella said, struggling.
"In the training yesterday, we all got slaughtered. He and his team were the only ones who lasted until the end. We all made it because of him, so you better not look for trouble, Bel," the first girl said.
Finally, Bella's two friends managed to pull her out of the room, even though she kept glaring sharply at Dennis, who remained silent. Once Bella was gone, Dennis let out a sigh of relief. His heart was still pounding hard—not because he was afraid of or subservient to Bella, but because he was restraining himself from saying or doing something he'd regret and couldn't take back. His anger was actually through the roof, but he didn't want to start any unnecessary drama.
After taking several deep breaths to calm down, "Dennis," a voice called out to him. Dennis turned to see Jason standing beside him.
"Dude, you were awesome yesterday. I really respect you, and I was honestly saved because of you. Anyway, Gary said Kimberly and I are supposed to go to the gym after school to get tested. Gary said he wants us to join the school core team... Kimberly is meeting with Mr. Steve with Olivia right now," Jason said, pulling up a chair and sitting next to Dennis without permission, acting as if he owned the place.
"Yeah, Gary discussed that last night. I don't have a problem with it," Dennis said, smiling and relaxed.
"What was up with Bella earlier?" Jason asked.
"Who knows? Starting stuff this early in the morning," Dennis replied casually with a shrug.
"Just ignore her. I guess that makes us partners now, right?" Jason said cheerfully, sticking his hand out.
"Wait, is it already official that you can join?" Dennis asked, looking at Jason's hand.
Jason showed his smartphone screen to Dennis; his chat with Kimberly, his wife, was still open. The messages said that Jason and Kimberly were joining the core team for long-range shooting and long-distance attacks.
"Okay, we're partners," Dennis said, shaking Jason's hand.
"Cool. Looking forward to working together, dude," Jason replied, shaking his hand firmly.
"Oh yeah, next time if you happen to deliver food to the house and Daisy happens to open the door, please don't look at her body. She doesn't usually wear a bra at home," Dennis said, smiling—though it wasn't exactly a friendly smile and he was clearly pissed.
"Oh... sorry dude. Just a male reflex, you know," Jason stammered, suddenly looking a bit pale.
"Yeah, well, just make sure there isn't a next time," Dennis replied with a smile, even though he was still annoyed that his wife had been leered at by another man—even if that man was now his colleague and even though he knew the guy already had a wife who was just as beautiful as Daisy.
After letting go of their handshake, the two of them chatted casually, completely unaffected and unaware that they had become the center of attention for the rest of their classmates. Dennis had completely forgotten about his issue with Bella, which in reality, wasn't even an issue at all.