The woman’s pale gray eyes didn’t blink much.
Kai held her gaze and tried not to look like prey that had just realized it was being sized for the pot. Desire Sense kept feeding him information in soft, unhelpful pulses. Calculated interest. Mild amusement. A thin undercurrent of something colder that the System refused to label cleanly.
She’s deciding whether I’m worth the effort. Great. Love being evaluated like discount meat.
"You’ve got a mouth on you," she said. The scar that pulled at the corner of her lips made the half-smile look permanent and vaguely cruel. "Most of the orphanage rats freeze or piss themselves when I look at them too long. You’re doing neither. That’s either bravery or a head injury."
"Recent fever," Kai answered. "Might’ve cooked the fear out of me. Still waiting to see if anything useful grew back."
She huffed once—almost a laugh. Then she stepped closer.
Kai caught the scent of leather, steel oil, and something faintly herbal underneath. Not perfume. Practical. The kind of smell that belonged to someone who lived with weapons.
[+2 Desire Points]
Prolonged eye contact with high-threat target.
Note: Host’s pulse elevated. Logged.
Stop helping.
"What’s your name, spine-grower?" she asked.
"Kai."
"Just Kai?"
"Just Kai. The orphanage wasn’t big on family names."
She studied him for another long second, then gave a small nod as if filing the information away. "Call me Rena. If you need to call me anything."
Rena. Short. Sharp. Matched the rest of her.
She glanced at the wooden stick in his hand. "You take that off someone, or are you practicing for a very sad career in street performance?"
"Took it off someone who thought hitting me with it was a good idea."
"And?"
"He’s reconsidering his life choices. Temporarily."
Rena’s eyes flicked over him again—thin wrists, oversized clothes, the faint tremor still left in his fingers from the earlier fight. Whatever conclusion she reached made the scarred smile widen a fraction.
"You’re going to die in this district if you keep walking around like that," she said bluntly. "No coin. No blade. No friends worth mentioning. And you just told a stranger your name and that you’re from the orphanage. That’s three mistakes in under a minute."
Kai shrugged, trying to look more relaxed than he felt. "Maybe I’m collecting them. Some people collect stamps."
"Cute." She tilted her head. "You’re not running."
"You haven’t given me a reason to run yet."
"I could."
"I know."
Silence stretched between them. A cart rattled past on the main street. Somewhere nearby a man started shouting about fresh eels. Normal life continued around the small pocket of tension they had created under the storefront overhang.
Desire Sense shifted.
The predatory edge in Rena’s emotional signature softened by a degree, replaced by something closer to curiosity. Still dangerous. Still assessing. But no longer quite so ready to discard him.
[Potential Opening: Moderate → Moderate-High]
Minor shift detected.
Claim Mark would be highly effective on this target.
Warning: Target possesses combat experience. Failure risk elevated.
Kai ignored the suggestion. Barely.
Rena finally looked away, scanning the street with the idle vigilance of someone who never fully relaxed. "There’s a reason I noticed you. You walked out of that orphanage like you had somewhere to be. Most of them don’t. They cling to the walls until they’re old enough to be thrown into the workhouses or the army. You moved like someone who already decided the building was a cage."
Kai didn’t answer immediately. The observation was uncomfortably accurate.
"I got tired of waiting for the next bowl of gray paste," he said.
"Mm." Rena’s gaze returned to him. "I’ve got a job tonight. Nothing complicated. Watching a door while someone else has a conversation inside. I need a second pair of eyes that can keep their mouth shut and not panic if things get loud. Pay is three copper and a hot meal."
Kai’s stomach twisted at the word meal.
Three copper wasn’t wealth, but it was three copper more than he currently had. And information. And time spent near someone who clearly knew how the lower district worked.
This is how people end up in deep shit. Accepting mysterious jobs from scarred women in alleys. Every webnovel warns you about this exact moment.
He looked at her.
Rena looked back, patient and faintly amused, like she already knew what he was going to say.
"What kind of conversation?" Kai asked.
"The kind that stays inside the room. Your job is the door. Nothing else."
"And if the conversation decides to leave the room?"
Her scarred smile returned, slower this time. "Then you run the opposite direction and forget my name. Simple."
The System window flickered at the edge of his vision.
[Optional Encounter Chain Available]
Accept job from target "Rena"?
Potential rewards: Currency, Information, Bond Progress, Combat Data
Risk: Moderate to High
Kai already knew his answer. He had known it the moment she offered.
He was a newly reincarnated degenerate with a pervert System, a single Claim Mark, and less than a day on his survival clock. Playing it safe was a fantasy for people who hadn’t already died once with their dick in their hand.
"Alright," he said. "I’ll watch your door."
Rena’s eyes gleamed with something that might have been approval.
"Good. Meet me at the Rusted Mug after the seventh bell. Back entrance. Don’t be late, and don’t bring that stick. You’ll look like you’re compensating."
She turned and walked away without waiting for a reply, cloak shifting around her like she was already half-swallowed by the district’s shadows.
Kai watched her go until Desire Sense lost the signal.
Then he looked down at the stupid wooden stick in his hand, exhaled slowly, and let the grin crawl back across his face.
Three copper. A hot meal. A dangerous woman who looks at me like I’m an interesting problem.
Tutorial’s starting to feel less like a tutorial.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter