5 The Love Meter

John sprinted after the tail dragging Stephanie away. With a fury-fuelled slash, he severed the scaly tail in one clean stroke. Stephanie cried out as dark blood sprayed, freeing her.

But their small victory was short-lived. Drawn by the commotion, a pack of skeletal hounds bounded toward them, cutting them off from the others.

"This way, hurry!" John yelled, pulling Stephanie toward a crumbling house. They rushed inside just as gnashing teeth snapped at their heels.

Slamming the door, John dragged furniture to barricade it. The house groaned as the beasts threw themselves against it, clawing and snarling.

"What now?" Stephanie asked shakily, glancing around the abandoned home.

John tested the barricade, his mind racing. "We wait for them to give up. Then loop back and catch up with the group."

Stephanie bit her lip but nodded, trusting in his confidence. John nodded back reassuringly despite his own doubts.

For now, they could only hope the house would hold long enough. And that the others had made it safely to the campus without them. Waiting in strained silence, John and Stephanie were forced to rely on each other in the interim.

Now able to catch his breath, John summoned the system screen and looked at the notification.

[Class Quest Completed]

[Critical Hit (F) Skill obtained]

[Love Meter Obtained]

[Critical Hit (F)]

[Description: With the Critical Hit Skill, the user's attack will triple in power. It can only be used once every 6 hours.]

[Love Meter]

[Description: The Love Meter is a class Skill. It allows the user to see other people's favourability towards the user. Higher favourability displays more information.]

'This will be useful for my class.' He thought and couldn't help the grin from spreading across his face. 

"Did something good happen?" Stephanie asked, puzzled by his grin. 

"Something like that," he said.

Stephanie realised he didn't want to talk about it and decided to prod on different matters. "So is it true? What that girl explained about you and Dalia."

John snorted at Stephanie's question, "Some things are true, some aren't."

"I bet I can guess what's true and what isn't," she claimed, her eyes brimming with confidence.

John smirked. 'This could be fun and maybe an opportunity,' he thought.

"What do we bet on?" He asked, leaning back on some old furniture, careful not to make any noise. Stephanie smiled and made herself comfortable on a chair in front of him.

"If I win, you will answer me three questions," she said, pointing her finger at John.

"And if you lose?" he asked, amusement dancing in his face.

"If I lose..." she began, pausing for dramatic effect, "I'll show you this," she said, groping her own plump breasts.

"Just show?" John asked, his piercing blue eyes glinting with excitement. "It would be a shame not to feel them."

"Deal!" She said excitedly and John had to shush her. 

"Alright alright, sorry," she said and chuckled as if she hadn't been crying for help a few minutes ago.

"Let's see," she began, rubbing her chin, thinking about what the girl had said. 

"All of it was true, except..." she said, dragging the last word for dramatic effect.

"That Dalia abandoned you and that you were interested in her!" She said with an ear-to-ear smile, proud of her deduction.

"Wrong," John said, bringing her enthusiasm to a halt.

"What!?" She asked, the indignation visible on her face.

"You almost got it, but it's true that she began to avoid me when she thought I was interested in her," he explained, his voice steady.

Stephanie's enthusiasm quickly transformed into doom. John chuckled at her subdued state and reminded her of the bet.

"Fine..." she said, unbuttoning her jacket and pulling up her top, revealing her plump and perky breasts. He decided it was a good time as any to try out the Love Meter, and not a second later a holographic screen appeared.

[Stephanie Mitz]

[Age: 20]

[Experience: Virgin]

[Preferences: ???]

[Kinks: ???]

[Favourability: 40/100]

John was a little surprised to learn that she was a virgin. She seemed too confident and assertive for a virgin girl, but he could only smile.

"Come here," he said. She knew she had promised to let him touch, but despite her gloomy demeanour, she showed no reluctance to the thought of John's touch.

As she stood next to him, John reached out with his right hand, enveloping her perky tit with his fingers. 

"Nice boob," he said with a smirk. Stephanie looked him in the eyes and smiled, her mood recovering.

"Right? I grew them myself."

John continued to play with Stephanie's breast and wrapped his other arm behind her. He kneaded and dug his fingers deep into the soft flesh of her breast, eliciting a moan from Stephanie. Just when he thought of getting serious, a voice rang from outside.

"Stephanie, John!" It was Dalia and other muffled voices could be heard.

'If they're here, it must mean it's safe to come out,' John thought.

John and Stephanie followed the source of the voices and came out of the house from the back. There, a nervous Dalia was waiting for them.

"Stephanie!" Dalia cried, running to hug her friend in relief as she and John rejoined the group.

As John and Stephanie told the story and reassured Dalia, they made their way towards the National University.

As they continued toward the university, John recounted the attack, his scepticism only growing. How could a functioning shelter appear overnight? The person behind this must have had prior knowledge. Could they be trusted?

These doubts churned in John's mind as they reached the campus entrance. It was strangely deserted - no guards, no staff. Only empty gates.

Dalia shifted uneasily. "Um...should we go in?"

"Of course! What else can we do?" Julian responded impatiently.

Before John could interject, the gates slowly groaned open. The dark unknown of the campus awaited beyond.

John tightened his grip on the knife. This was a mistake. But with monstrous howls echoing behind them, the group had no choice but to venture into the questionable refuge.