11 I will put in a good word for you

"What? Hey! Wait a second. My name is Sara. I am at level 6 already. I am a priest class player, and I have already learned one additional healing skill. I am very good." 

The woman started hurriedly blurting out in a defensive tone. She couldn't believe that someone had actually refused her.

Ryan, on the other hand, did not even look like he was paying attention to her. He once again paused as he was busily staring at the notification that had just popped up.

<Ding. You have learned a new skill - Heightened Hearing>

[Heightened Hearing]: Passive skill; You are able to hear beyond what a normal human being can hear

Ryan sighed in relief. It worked! It actually worked! He was able to learn a skill by forcefully using his senses to the best that he could. Now he was sure that he would be able to get the others to work as well.

While he silently contemplated the best way he could go about this, the woman behind him still continued talking. She assumed that he had stopped for her and now spoke more confidently.

"Don't worry. You won't regret this decision. I am also from the guild Guardian Knights, one of the top 20 guilds. You seem to be just starting, same as me. I can put in a good word for you. It will go a long way. Don't worry. You don't have to thank me."

"Hmmm?" Ryan only now noticed that this person was still talking. Thank her? What was she going on about?

"I am not interested." He repeated his words again and continued walking.

"What? But you just!" Sara sounded furious. She couldn't understand why he changed his mind again.

And to her dismay, Ryan now started running away. Not only did this person not want to team up with her, but he was actually running away from her? It felt extremely humiliating.

She did not continue chasing him any longer and went on her way. He might be a talented player, but she did not have to beg someone to play with her. She only asked because she was impressed with the 1 vs 5. Hmph. She eyed the rude fellow one last time before leaving.

Ryan, meanwhile, continued to jog while paying attention to the surroundings using all of his senses. He had already forgotten about the woman. Sure, she might have been helpful, but there was a reason why he did not want to team up.

If she really wanted to help, she would have jumped in already and tried to heal him. She did not do that. Instead, she conveniently hid and watched him fight alone. Why team up with someone like that?

He continued running and finally reached the dire wolf zone. There were a few players scattered around here and there, but the player population was definitely less than that of the Level 5 previous zone.

He wandered around a bit before coming to a somewhat secluded spot. There was even a Level 7 dire wolf waiting for him readily.

"Here we go." Ryan dashed toward the beast. He made short work of it as the man and the wolf clashed against each other. 

The fight was better than before as he wasn't as weak as he was, but at the same time, the dire wolf was more agile than the wild boar. So he took a few hits here and there before the wolf finally folded.

Ryan decided to analyze the fight later as he first hurriedly grabbed the guy and sank his teeth into the wolf. His 20 minutes were almost up and the thirst and hunger were beginning to rear their ugly heads, so this felt good.

And after he drank his fill, he immediately felt better. Good as new. He was ready to dive straight into another fight without needing a break or anything like that.

"This class…" Ryan shook his head helplessly as he stood up and looked for the next target. 

He spent the next hour hunting wolves here and there and trying to get the other heightened senses. In the end, he was only able to unlock [Heightened Smell] and [Heightened Sight]. Surprisingly, he also managed to unlock [Claw] and [Punch].

But the skill he was looking forward to the most, the one related to the actual blood-sucking was nowhere to be found. "I guess all in due time." 

Ryan had been playing for a while, so he checked the time, and immediately his eyes widened. It was actually 5 pm. His mother would be back from her day shift any time now. 

She usually came back home around this time to check on him and prepare something for dinner before leaving again for the night shift.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Ryan knew that he had left the apartment in bad condition, some blood stains left uncleaned, and there were also his legs, which were now completely healed. How was he going to explain all of this?

His friend might not notice the difference if he threw a towel on his legs, but his mom would instantly find out. He was in deep shit now! 

He was not ready to explain anything to her. Even he did not understand what was happening completely. Shiitttttt!