When Layla joined Erin, she had brought her gear, along with some food pills and water. It was the bare essentials, just enough to travel around the shelter.

However, when she checked for her supplies in the mini valley, Layla found that everything had been taken. Her beast arrows, her bow, her one water bottle and bag of food pills.

Erin continued to hold a makeshift shadow roof over her head. It worked as a way for her to stay out of the sunlight, but there was a bit of a problem if she used it while she fought. While she still had her umbrella, her rattaclaw chest piece had been useful because it completely covered her arms, allowing her to extend her sword beyond the shade of the umbrella. But now? The chest piece was too broken to cover her arms anymore.

Extending the shadow above her head was an option, but at that point, she might as well just use the shadow void skill.

Since Erin didn’t need the outer coat of Layla’s uniform anymore, she handed it back to her, but Layla wrapped it around her waist. As was uniform in their school outfit, there was a white undershirt underneath the indigo outer coat.

"Just as I thought," Layla lamented, before rambling, one of her hands on the corner of her mouth, "They really did take everything— What are we going to do? I don’t have enough money for another bow, and I don’t even have arrows— I can’t buy a new one, and your sword—"

That was when Erin placed her hands on Layla’s shoulders, suddenly grounding her in the moment.

"We steal it back," Erin confidently said.

"But how?" Layla asked, "We’re just two people, and have none of our weapons. Without my bow, I’m... And what about you? How are you going to deal with the sun?"

"Did you forget the skill I used just before they attacked us?" Erin replied.

Layla paused, thinking about what Erin had just said. The mental gears turned, and she was picking up what Erin was putting down.

"But what about tracking them? We don’t know how long it’s been, and where they’re at now," Layla brought up.

Erin turned her head towards a particular direction, her nose twitching. The scent was in the same path where the sun would soon set. It wouldn’t properly set for another few hours, but just barely could Erin make out the smell of humans.

"They’re not too far," Erin declared, pointing towards the scent.

—

With the news that Layla was missing, Quinn, Peter and Fex split up to look in the town for her, only to not find her at all. It really did seem like Layla joined Erin on the hunt. Of course, the group wasn’t fully sure of it, other than a feeling that it felt like something she would do.

It was something Quinn was heavily encouraging as the system stated she was in danger, right before a message appeared that Erin was at 2 HP.

After quickly doing a round in the shelter, Quinn was on his way to reunite with his roommates when he got another notification.

[Your hunger grows]

[You will no longer heal]

[Your HP will continue to decrease by – 1 HP until human blood has been consumed]

[HP 1/19]

Quinn froze, not sure what to do.

’It’s been an hour since she dropped down to 2 HP?’ Quinn worried.

"No, it was less than that. She was injured quite badly, and lost a lot of blood," The system explained, "You see, when vampires lose blood, their hunger increases, and so does their blood lust."

In an effort to reach out to Erin, just in case she was conscious again, Quinn was about to send another message when the next set of notifications had alarmed him.

[First human killed]

[You have killed a level 4 ability user]

[Reward: 180 Exp gained]

Quinn was staring at the system messages, wide eyed at what had happened. It was like he was sent on an emotional rollercoaster. At first fearing that Erin was near death again, then seeing that she killed someone. With the lack of a warning message saying that she was transforming, Quinn deduced that the kill wasn’t from becoming a bloodsucker.

She was conscious.

{Quinn} Erin!? What’s going on!?

{Quinn} Were you attacked?!

{Quinn} I thought you were in danger, I saw your health go down, but—

{Quinn} Did you just KILL someone?

{Quinn} Erin, answer me!

’I knew she wanted to do well on the test, but to go THAT far?’ Quinn wondered, ’But the system said she was in danger. That could be why she wasn’t responding.’

He started picking up his pace, walking faster towards the spot he planned to meet up with Fex and Peter. His thoughts went wild thinking about all the ways Erin could be in trouble.

"Will you relax?" The system spoke to Quinn’s mind, "Erin is fine because she drank the blood of the person attacking her."

’That’s not exactly very soothing news, system!’ Quinn thought back, but he did slow down his running, ’There’s consequences to killing people! What if she gets punished? Or worse, sent to the dungeon?’

The dungeon was an underground place that the people at military base 2 sent especially troublesome students to, and where they kept all of their top secret experiments at. There were rumors that those sent to the dungeon would lose their abilities, something that had been on the system user’s minds when Erin lost hers.

After Quinn thought that, he realized that she likely wouldn’t have been sent to the dungeon. With Erin being known as a level 5 ability user, and the person who was killed being a level 4 ability user, the military officials would favor the stronger ability user.

"Well, you may be right about something worse happening," The system added, "She does need your help right now as she and Layla had their items stolen."

At this rate, Erin was going to give Quinn a heart attack, or maybe the system was going to give him one first. There was always something going on ever since Erin had gotten the system that kept sending Quinn on an emotional rollercoaster.

’Do you know where they are?’ Quinn asked.

"Of course, they’re at the red zone, although I will say that they are leaving that area right now," The system replied.

Rubbing his temples, Quinn sighed, "I knew it..."

When he reunited with Peter and Fex, he told them that he heard from someone that there was a person who had heard Erin and Layla go to the red zone. He didn’t want to tell them that he knew because a system AI voice told him, but thankfully they believed him, and the group gathered their traveling supplies before setting off.

—

Layla had followed Erin out of the mini valley, and out of the red zone. With the fight against Amy and Garret, as well as helping Erin fight against the wingedlizards, Layla was finding herself growing exhausted. Erin in comparison seemed unstoppable, continuing to trudge on despite everything.

"How are you still walking on?" Layla asked, wearily, "I thought vampires were weak to the sun?"

Erin’s speed barely seemed like it slowed down to Layla, even though she actually wasn’t walking at her top speed. Unbeknownst to Layla, Erin was trying to slow down for her.

"We’re here," Erin said, holding up a hand indicating to stop.

Layla had paused, looking in front of her. She didn’t know what exactly it was she was supposed to see. The only thing she saw was the vast desert in front of her, with bits of shrubbery here and there.

"I don’t get it," Layla sighed, perhaps the heat had been getting to Erin much more than she thought.

Erin grabbed her head, and pushed it down, which made Layla see what Erin had already sensed prior.

Just about 15 ft from where they stood was a ravine in the rocky ground. As the two peeked their heads down into the ravine, they saw the group that had robbed them about an hour prior. Amy, Garret, Pierogi and their newest member Jerry, were all enjoying their spoils in a makeshift camp.