14 Girls Are Confusing

Larcen did not want to stay in a group that was an actual family as his safety would not be secure. Luckily for him, the answer he received changed his mind.

"I'm a Junior League Football player. I'm just a random guy who got stuck in this mess. Ethan's the name but almost everyone I know calls me Ray. Oh my full name is Ethan Reynolds.", he said proudly but it didn't elicit any reaction from the others which ended with an awkward silence.

"Ahem-", said Aria, and when they all turned towards her, she added, "We need to find a place to rest first. Also, this locality used to be reserved for the families of military servicemen so expect to see some really cool things."

Larcen nodded and Mike took the lead while the rest of them followed. On the way, Larcen passed one of his knives to Aria, who smiled as she received it. The spare bat though, was given to Aria's sister, who held it like it was some kind of foreign thing. 

He could tell that she clearly was not someone who could fight or even knew something about it. 

"Just keep it with you, I can't use more than two weapons at once."

"Thank you...", she said meekly and walked faster so she could match her cousin's pace.

"Don't mind Lily. She's too normal and as much as I hate to say it, I was actually happy that she could have a normal school life unlike me.", Aria said, walking beside him while Ethan took the rear.

"Mhm, got it. What was so un-normal about you then?"

"Well, I was sent to a military school. It focuses mostly on physical training and studies are secondary, especially when it comes to theoretical subjects. That's where I learned all my fighting and survival skills. 

Unfortunately, I was born a girl. If I had a guy's body, I would've been able to use my skills better. Even at my school, I couldn't beat the guys no matter how hard I tried. I was the best student while I was young but after my classmates turned 14, the guys suddenly felt stronger."

Larcen nodded. He didn't completely understand what she was trying to say but he did understand that guys were stronger biologically.

"You know, I don't think it will be the same anymore. Stats determine everything now and not someone's gender. There is no law and order anymore and only individual strength will help you survive. 

Also, being a female has its perks. Guys would do their best to try to protect a girl, you know? Like the Benjamin guy before."

"Hah." she scoffed, "Well, it's true that the world has changed but some things won't. Girls will be protected, yes. But only the good-looking ones or the ones who know how to act powerless and cute. I'm neither powerless nor can I act cute so who would want to protect me? Nah, don't look at Mike."

Larcen grinned when she called him out but before he could say something, Ethan interrupted.

"I'd want to protect you, you know? Looks don't matter to me."

Aria turned to look at him before nodding and going back to Larcen, "Yeah, then there are the guys who want to protect me like Ethan."

Ethan went beet red when he heard her words but Aria continued.

"I'm not saying that I don't like it but Ethan, tell me the truth. Would you like it if I saved you or protected you at any point in time?"

Ethan contemplated for a few seconds and then shook his head, "No. It's humiliating I guess..."

"See? There's a reason I've been in and out of relationships for so long. No one liked having a girlfriend who was stronger than them. Some were honest with me while some of them just went into depression or wallowed in self-pity."

Ethan sighed but Larcen suddenly said something he had never expected him to say after he had seen him fight.

"They're dumb, aren't they? Who in their right mind wouldn't like a girl who's strong? I'd be proud if my girl saved me and all that, you know? I understand that it's humiliating to get protected by a girl but isn't it cool when your girlfriend knocks a couple of guys out in public?"

No one spoke among the three but Mike and Lily were trying their best to keep their laughter in. Lily was trying so hard that she appeared to be shivering from the back but luckily for her, both Aria and Ethan were staring at Larcen who was busy nodding to himself while he imagined a faceless girl knocking people out for him.

The rest of the walk was awkwardly silent and Larcen happily went back to his usual habit of thinking about random things.

"Each mutated monster of the first stage gives out a total of 10 SP. I receive 4 for direct kills but they go into the skill chest and I get 1 for indirect one which is freely usable... As for the goblins, I will have to check tomorrow."

Mike pushed open a large gate and walked inside while the rest of them followed. To Larcen's surprise, Mike actually took Lily's hairpin, bent it to a specific shape, and inserted it into the keyhole before twisting and turning it gently.

He didn't understand what was going on so he turned to look at Ethan and Aria.

"What are your stats by the way?" he asked, attempting to make small talk and also to see if they trusted him or not. He didn't expect them to trust him so early on but he still hoped that they did.

"Well, my strength, stamina, agility, and mana are at points 5, 6, 5, and 0.", said Ethan while Aria was silent. 

Larcen's expectations were on point as Ethan was lying about his stats and Aria's reaction was also under his expectations.

He was about to praise Ethan for having such good stats but Aria spoke up.

"Mine is point 7,6 and 8. Mana is at zero."

Larcen looked at her speechlessly, 'Why in the hell did she add an extra point to all of her stats?'