NOVEL FROG Chapter 3. Shattered Illusions
"Cockadoodledoo!!"
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"Cockadoodledoo!!"
'Hmmm. Damn it! Eventually, I'll kill that rooster...'
The next day, Kara was woken up as usual by the noise of her neighbor's rooster. During working days, this was not a problem as she left for the forest early in the morning. However, on weekends, when she usually preferred to relax, she wanted to sleep more.
Usually, on Saturday mornings, she would go to Alice's place for breakfast, but for the first time in her life, Kara felt that Alice's presence would only bring discomfort. Maybe she had finally come to terms with the fact that Alice would never accept her as a lover. Was it possible for them to remain best friends? Maybe they weren't even that anymore.
In the month following her official confession to Alice, Kara continued to hope that Alice was in love with her, but due to external factors, Alice didn't accept her confession. Alice didn't distance herself from Kara or reject any gifts offered by her, so Kara thought there was still a chance.
Now, looking back, everything is clear. Kara was for Alice the most important resource of money and experience for leveling up. Perhaps Alice didn't reject her directly out of fear of losing the attention provided by Kara.
Why did their relationship change so much? Was she responsible for the destruction of their friendship because she was greedy and wanted too much?
'At least I did everything I could. I won't have any regrets...'.
That's the conclusion Kara reached after a night of sleep.
After getting out of bed, Kara started preparing breakfast. Kara has always preferred to eat a lot in the morning, so the breakfast she prepared today consisted of 5 boiled eggs, 2 apples, and two slices of bread spread with honey. A true champion's meal.
After finishing her meal, Kara settled into an armchair and started reading a book brought by her father, a book about the exploration of the Dungeons.
After three hours of reading, Kara decided to take a short trip to the forest to test a new skill she had received yesterday upon reaching level 25. Yes, she could evolve her class for over a year, but none of the options she received appealed to her. Initially, she had wanted to have the same class as her father, but now she realized it wasn't enough. No matter how powerful the Beast Hunter class was, it would have no chance of winning against a Paladin or a Great Sage. Yes, Kara might be a genius, but her expertise lay in hunting. She couldn't indefinitely bridge the gap between classes.
..............
Once in the forest, Kara did a quick warm-up and then activated the new skill she had received, "Speaking Forest". To Kara's disappointment, this skill only dealt with creating diversions and could only be activated in the forest. It wouldn't significantly enhance her combat abilities.
Kara's most important skills are two latent skills: Speed Increase and Hawk Eyes. With nearly perfect vision and speed that could benefit from the information her brain received from her eyes, combined with combat techniques learned from her father's friend, a Master Assassin, Kara was an unbeatable opponent for anyone at the same level as her.
But what would happen in the future? After years of being seen as a genius, Kara had developed pride in her abilities. Kara couldn't accept that others at the same level would be stronger than her.
'It seems that failure never comes alone. After failing in love, I am heading towards a professional failure...'
This was Kara's thought as she returned home in the evening.
Once she entered the courtyard, Kara saw Alice waiting for her, sitting on the bench under the front yard plum tree.
"Kara! Where have you been? I thought something happened to you..."
"I went to the forest to train for a few hours," Kara replied curtly to Alice.
"But why didn't you come in the morning? Did your father return? Or did you have something else to do?", Alice continued to ask.
"No."
"No what?"
"My father didn't return, and I didn't have anything important to do."
"Then what happened?"
"Nothing."
"Then why didn't you come in the morning?"
"I had breakfast at home."
Seeing that she wasn't reaching any conclusion, Alice pouted and looked at Kara reproachfully. If this had happened in the past, Kara would have done everything in her power to bring a smile back to Alice's face. But now Kara simply bypassed her and entered the house.
Alice remained speechless. 'Something is not right,' she thought. She immediately followed Kara and grabbed her arm.
"Kara! What's wrong? Are you upset with me?"
"Yes."
Alice was once again shocked. Until now, Kara had never told her that she was upset with her.
"But why? What did I do? Please tell me."
"I'm upset because you don't know the reason why I'm upset."
'Or maybe you know and you just don't care...', Kara added in her mind.
"Kara, why are you speaking in riddles? If I've done something wrong, tell me clearly so I can fix it and apologize."
"Don't you know, Alice? Don't you know? You've been using me for almost a year to get Klaus' attention, criticizing me in front of him... What do you think of me? That I'm stupid, that I don't see. Alice, I know you better than anyone in this world. Do you think I haven't noticed how you look at him? Maybe at first, I deceived myself and tried not to understand, but deep down, I knew from the first day."
Once she finished speaking, Kara took a deep breath to calm herself.
'Yes, this is the real me. I will no longer be a dog in front of Alice. Nor will I be in front of anyone...'.
"Kara, how... how can you say that? The reason I've been friendly with Klaus is because he's the son of the city's leader. If he wanted to, both we and my grandmother and your father would no longer be able to set foot in this city. Besides, almost every time you've dislocated one of his hands or legs, so it's only natural that I would help him after the fight. I know that your feelings for me have always made you jealous of anyone who comes near me, but now it's too much!"
Kara expected a response like this. Perhaps for those who don't know Alice, she may seem naive, but she is far from it. In just three sentences, she turned Kara's jealousy into the cause of their conflict.
"Okay, I admit it, I'm jealous. I just can't help it! But it's fine now... You said you have no feelings for Klaus. So there won't be any problem if you stay away from him."
Alice didn't expect her own words to be used against her. In the end, she had no choice but to accept Kara's condition.
"Okay, okay, Kara. I'll stay away from him. Are you happy?"
"Yes," Kara replied with a wide smile. "I'm very happy."
'Let's see how many days you can keep your promise, Alice. I'm willing to give you another chance, even though I'm sure you'll disappoint me again. I want to see what solution you'll come up with, Alice. What excuse will you find next Friday? And what will you say in the future when you realize that for Klaus you are just a tool that helps him get on my nerves?'