Marvel: Shadow Monarch

"Well, well," Grandma Murphy said as I approached with Anna. "Let's see this mysterious girlfriend of yours."

I'd left Jeff hidden in the bushes nearby - bringing a land shark to meet a stranger seemed like a terrible idea.

Anna stepped forward with a nervous smile, keeping her hands carefully positioned to avoid any accidental skin contact. Her sleeves were pulled down over her palms, and she maintained a polite distance.

"Ma'am," Anna said softly. "Thank you for giving us a chance."

Grandma Murphy's sharp eyes immediately softened as she took in Anna's appearance.

There was something about Anna's careful, almost fragile way of moving that seemed to trigger the older woman's protective instincts.

"Oh honey," she said, her voice gentler than I'd heard it. "You look like you've been through hell and back." Her gaze sharpened as she looked between us. "Both of you do."

"Come on, let me show you to your room," she said, leading us toward the motel section. She pulled out a key marked with the number 7.

"Now, I've got a nice room for you two lovebirds," she said with a knowing smirk. "Double bed, private bathroom, and it's at the end of the row so you won't disturb the other guests."

Anna's face immediately turned bright red. "We're not—I mean, we don't need to—"

"Oh, don't be shy, dear," Grandma Murphy said, her smirk widening. "You're both young and in love. Nothing wrong with that." She unlocked the door and gestured for us to enter.

"Just try to keep it down, will ya? These walls aren't as thick as they used to be. Also, use protection, there are some packets near the lamp."

Anna looked like she wanted to disappear into the floor. I wasn't faring much better, but I managed to nod and mumble something that might have been thanks.

"I'll bring you some proper clothes in a bit," Grandma Murphy continued, clearly enjoying our discomfort.

"Those jumpsuits you're wearing look like they've seen better days." She paused at the doorway, her expression growing more serious.

"And kids? Whatever trouble you're running from, you're safe here. I don't ask questions, and I don't volunteer information to strangers. Just remember that."

With that, she closed the door behind us with a final, "Enjoy yourselves!"

The sound of her cackling could be heard fading down the hallway.

Anna and I stood there in stunned silence for a moment, both of our faces burning with embarrassment.

"She's... something else," Anna finally managed.

"That's one way to put it," I replied, looking around the room we'd been given.

True to her word, Grandma Murphy returned a few minutes later with clothes for both of us. After we'd changed out of our facility jumpsuits, the normalcy of wearing regular clothes felt almost surreal.

Once we were sure Grandma Murphy was gone, I quietly opened the window and called softly into the darkness. "Jeff, come here buddy."

A few moments later, our little land shark came waddling through the bushes and climbed through the window with surprising agility. I quickly got him settled in the bathroom tub with some water, where he seemed perfectly content.

I returned to the room and a blue screen popped on in front of me. I stared at the blue screen floating in front of me and immediately felt another headache coming on.

DAILY QUEST UPDATED

New Requirements:

-200 Push-ups

-200 Pull-ups

-200 Sit-ups

-200 Squats

-10 KM Run

What the hell?

The requirements had doubled across the board, and they'd added a ten-kilometer run and pull-ups to the mix. This had never happened in the original Solo Leveling novel, at least not that I could remember. Sung Jin-Woo's daily quest had stayed consistent throughout most of the story.

Maybe it's because I reached a certain level threshold? Or maybe the system noticed the original workout would be too easy with my current stats?

I honestly had no idea. The system seemed to be adapting in ways that weren't covered in the source material, which was both fascinating and slightly terrifying. At least the rewards would probably scale up too, assuming the pattern held.

Jeff was currently chilling in the large bathtub in our room's small bathroom, looking perfectly content as he paddled around in the water we'd filled it with. Occasionally, we could hear small splashes and what sounded suspiciously like purring.

Our room.

There was one small complication with the accommodations, and it was currently staring me in the face in the form of a single double bed.

This was entirely my fault for sticking with the "runaway couple" story.

Grandma Murphy had given us the room with a knowing smirk, when she closed the door with a cheerful "Enjoy yourselves!" that had made my face burn with embarrassment.

"Finally, a real mattress," Anna said with obvious relief as she settled onto the bed. "After those terrible cots, this feels like luxury." She looked up at me where I was still standing awkwardly by the window, and her expression shifted to one of amused mischief. "Are you shy about sleeping in the same bed? After you told Grandma Murphy we're a couple?"

I felt heat rise in my cheeks. "I just... I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Anna's smile softened slightly. "Lucien, I can finally touch another person without hurting them. After seven months of isolation, sharing a bed with someone I trust is probably the least uncomfortable thing I can imagine."

She looked different for someone who was stuttering a few moments ago at the mention of a same room.

But she had a point. And it wasn't like there were many other options anyway.

I sighed and lay down on the other side of the bed, maintaining a careful distance between us. The mattress was indeed a vast improvement over the facility cots—soft enough to be comfortable but firm enough to actually support us properly.

"It feels peaceful here," Anna said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper in the darkness.

I felt her hand brush against mine on the bedspread, tentative and questioning. After a moment's hesitation, I turned my palm up and let her fingers intertwine with mine.

As Anna's breathing began to even out beside me, I remembered the 2000 gold. I hadn't had a chance to explore the system shop yet, and my current dagger was barely holding together after the facility escape.

I quietly accessed the shop interface, scrolling through the available items.

There was a large variety of weapons, potions and a lot of other items. I searched solely for daggers, I was scrolling through the ones that I would have loved to have, if not for them being out of my budget. But then something caught my eye.

Red Fang

Attack: +50

Special: Increased critical hit chance

Price: 1200 Gold

The image showed a sleek pair of black daggers with red outline finishing that looked both elegant and deadly. They provided double the attack power of my current weapons, and the critical hit bonus would synergize well with my assassin class.

Definitely worth the investment.

I purchased them, watching my gold drop to 800 as the daggers materialized briefly before storing themselves in my inventory. I could feel their quality even through the system interface—these were serious weapons.

As sleep began to take hold, I found myself thinking about the updated daily quest. Tomorrow would bring new challenges, but for tonight, we were safe.

We had a roof over our heads, Jeff was secure in his improvised pool, and Anna's hand in mine reminded me that some things were worth fighting for.

The system could throw whatever it wanted at me. I'd handle it.

.....

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