“Jimmy, I’m off now!” Chloe yelled out jovially as she scurried around the counter and trotted towards the door.

“Alright, Chloe. Have fun on your date,” came a faint reply from the back of the shop but loud enough for Chloe to hear it.

“I will,” she responded excitedly as she exited the shop. She was over the moon as she skipped down the busy streets. How could she not be? She had finally gotten her one week off from her wonderful boss and she was about to spend that one whole precious week of hers with her boyfriend. She might even lose her virginity in the process, to the one she loved of all people. 

She gave herself a mild fright when she looked at the time through her phone. She was half an hour late for her date. She had told her boyfriend that she might be late but half an hour was just stretching his patience. The venue for her date was just a few blocks away but there were many turns to take and many streets to cross in order to reach the place.

I’m gonna be so late…

Chloe muttered worriedly to herself as she picked up her pace. Collin wasn’t her first boyfriend and not even her second. She was his fourth and she was still a virgin. Not to say she wasn’t interested in sex but she was simply too timid and reserved. Her mother had her while in high school and she didn’t even know who her father was. Her mother’s dark history had induced a certain fear unto her and she had promised her mother she would only give herself to the right guy. And after three failures, she was confident enough to say she found the right one.

Or so she thought.

Fearing that she would miss her date, Chloe decided to take a shortcut. She cut across the back alleys of the tall buildings, away from the sights of the crowds. She had only ever taken such routes in broad daylight before, never when the sun was beginning to set. This was also because of her mother, who had bad experiences with dark alleys. She had taken her mother’s advice close to heart, until now. For the sake of not being later than she already was, she defied her mother’s warning. 

If she took the main route, it would take her ten minutes to reach her boyfriend but going through the back alleys had reduced that time to just mere four minutes. She had messaged Collin that she was on the way and he had responded with a very empathetic message of “Take your time. I’ll wait.” along with a few heart emojis.

He’s so understanding. I love him so much!

Chloe squealed gleefully in her heart. Unlike her previous boyfriends, Collin was patient and understanding. He was quite good-looking too, she might add. He was two years older than her but he looked even younger than her. In addition, Collin was a Manavir, someone who had awakened their potential to properly utilise a nigh-omnipotent force known as Mana. 

Mana was found in all living beings and sometimes non-living things too. But only a few were able to harness Mana into proper and practical use. Those who were awakened as Manavirs had great prospects for their future and most of them ended up becoming millionaires or at least wealthy enough to not need to worry about money ever again.

Collin was such a person of such prospects. Sometimes, Chloe wondered just how she was able to snag such good boyfriend material. It was almost too good to be true. The fifth time’s the charm, she had explained to herself in this silly way.

Turning the fifth sharp corner in a row, the figure of her boyfriend’s back at the egress of the alley came into sight. Their meeting spot was a few yards away but she found Collin here instead. She didn’t think much of it and simply skipped down the alley in an exuberant mood. She was about to call out to him when she thought about sneaking up on him and giving him a surprise.

She slowed down her pace and shifted her jog into a sneak. She nearly gave herself away when she tripped on some heavy package by the side of the alleyway but thankfully, she didn’t. Her boyfriend still had his back turned to her.

I wondered what kind of reaction he would let out. I bet it would be adorable.

She snickered silently to herself from just imagining how he would react. As she trod discreetly closer and closer to him, her excitement soared higher and higher. 

Chloe was just a few steps away from springing onto her boyfriend when a girl of her age dressed in a low-cut blouse and tight jeans walked up to him from the side. Moreover, the girl’s skin was dark and she had long pointy ears. 

A Dark Elf?

Chloe had thought the girl was just some stranger who wasn’t looking where she wasn’t going. However, the scantily-clad girl threw her arms around Collin and planted her lips onto his.

Chloe froze then. Her whole body came to a stop and she unconsciously straightened her posture. Her eyes and mouth were agape. She was suddenly remembering all those words of love and sweet nothings Collin had whispered so lovingly and sweetly to her.

No, she told herself. Collin isn’t that kind of person. He won’t cheat on me. It must just be a misunderstanding. Look, he’s baffled. She must have had the wrong— 

“Collin!” the girl cried mirthfully. “What are you doing here?”

“Cynthia?” Collin’s expression shifted into one of joy as he returned the kiss. “I can ask you the same thing.”

“Just got off a date with my boyfriend.”

Collin tittered. “I see. How was it?”

Why do you look so happy…? Why did you return the kiss…?

The girl named Cynthia feigned a yawn. “Boring. Terrible in bed as usual. Well, what about you? On a date too?”

“I am. Waiting for my girlfriend.”

“Oh dear… Should I not have kissed you then?”

“Don’t worry about that, Cynthia. From where I’m standing, I will be able to see her coming from afar.”

“Good heavens, then. So which girlfriend is this?”

W-which girlfriend…? You’re really cheating on… me?

“The shy one, Chloe.”

“Do I know her?”

“I don’t think you would. She's nobody.”

“Then why are you dating her?”

“She’s a virgin despite being twenty-two years old.” 

“My my, such a rare find.”

“It is. She’s also easy and quite dull-witted. They are the type of girls that I can easily shape to my preferences. Moreover, she’s got quite a pair of knockers.”

“Bigger than mine?” Cynthia asked as she pressed her cleavage against Collin’s arm.

“Maybe. I wouldn’t know until I get to see her naked.”

Cynthia. “Good luck with that, Collin.”

“Thank you, Cynthia.”

“If it’s you, I’m sure she’ll do it if you just ask.”

“I had asked and she did agree. I’ll be seeing her naked by tonight most probably.”

They shared a laugh and also a kiss.

“Well, I should be going. It’ll be bad if she sees us together.”

“Even if she did, I’m sure she’ll buy whatever explanation I cook up.”

They shared another laugh and another kiss before they parted ways for real.

Around five minutes went by and Chloe was still frozen to her spot, utterly shocked by what she just heard and seen. Collin had been texting her about her whereabouts but she was too stunned to respond. The sound of her notification was much too silent for him to hear even though she was just behind him.

Another five minutes went by and Collin was finally reaching the limits of his patience. “Damn it, you stupid girl. Just where the hell are you?” he muttered as he began dialling her number.

The sound of her phone going off from her boyfriend’s call snapped Chloe out of her daze.

Her ringtone echoed loudly and clearly, entering Collin’s ears, who turned around slowly in disbelief.

“C-Chloe?” he said, stammering. “H-how long have you been behind me?” he asked.

“Long enough…” she answered. She found her voice somehow. 

“Look, Chloe. Before you start making any stupid and immature assumptions, let me explain.”

“Stupid… immature?” Chloe scoffed. “Is that how you see me?”

“No, of course not, Chloe. But please, let me explain. That was just—” Collins fell silent abruptly and just stared blankly at her.

“That was just what?” 

Collin frowned confusingly. “Behind you, Chloe.” He was staring behind her.

His confusion spread to Chloe’s face. “What’s behind me?”

“Something’s glowing?”

“What do you mean something’s glowing?” Chloe glanced behind her and saw the package she almost tripped herself on was glowing. “Why is it glow—”

Chloe didn’t even finish her musing when the package exploded into a blinding flash of light. She felt herself being lifted off her feet and thrown back by some unseen force as the blinding radiance flooded her sight.

She didn’t know what was going on. She couldn’t understand what just happened. 

She could hear loud rumblings as she went tumbling in the air as a result of being thrown off her feet. She could hear screams and shouts. She could hear the sounds of bricks collapsing onto one another. 

But she couldn’t see anything. The lights had blinded her and now all she saw was white.

She felt her back hitting against something solid. She didn’t know what. All she knew was that a sharp pain spread to her whole body. She could feel she fell onto the ground hitting that something. Her pain increased evermore. 

She wanted to scream but her breaths were knocked right out of her lungs when she slammed against that something.

She was in agony without being able to voice it out. 

But in the next second, the pain turned into numbness and she felt nothing afterwards, not even her own body. She had turned completely numb. The numbness eventually reached her brain and her consciousness left her