I had been thinking about what of the new items I had won that could be used now or in the future, and who I should give some of the prizes to. It took an hour of serious consideration for me to decide on the right allotment.

Most of the items were very obvious in use and who they were meant for, but some could go to any of them. I was trying to make the right decision and give them to who would benefit the most from them.

For example, It wouldn't hurt any of my summons or myself to get some extra regeneration, but Jareth would be able to make the most use of it in combination with his solid defence and berserker fighting style.

Speaking of Jareth, he would also be getting the tier 4 ogre core from the monster break soon to help him evolve, but I would only give it to him the day he feels ready to evolve.

For the riding skill, I was still undecided whether I should use it for myself or give it to Jareth. My plan was to use Brutus as a mount, but his size still wasn't quite up to par for that right now, plus his build is meant more for speed and stealth than strength. Maybe I'd use Jotun as a mount instead depending on his evolutionary direction.

The dryad card and the healing gem would come in handy in a fight, but were one-time use items that I didn't plan on relying on. The stamina pill and meal replacement would just be stored for later use if I ever remembered that I had them.

I don't know what the cauldron of elemental tempering could be used for, but I guess I'll keep my eye out for potential elemental summons to use it on. The camouflage skill was remaining unused as none of my summons were the scout or assassin type, which is where the skill would be most useful.

The flask of icy water from the underworld would go to Jotun obviously, I would give him a drop every morning until it's used up in order for him to not be overwhelmed by it. It was extremely powerful water, too much would be harmful and potentially deadly. It would be best to gradually let him absorb the water completely, and he can harness the water as he fights when we go out into the wild.

The collar would obviously go to Brutus. It looked rather stylish yet intimidating, it was black leather with red streaks on it from some unknown source, and reddish tinged metal spikes that denoted some adamantium alloy within the collar. It even had a little bone-shaped bronze ID that hadn't been written on yet that was obviously where Brutus's name would go.

I have no clue what undead souls could be used for, they were swirling around as a grey mist within a glass bead type object. It gave off an eerie feeling and was cold to the touch. It wouldn't hurt to keep with me for now, if I didn't need it then I could just sell it.

There was a berserker skill that was obviously going to Jareth seeing as he already fought like one, and was super deadly during the monster break with his knock-off berserker potion. Unlike the potion, he actually would go mad, but luckily it only lasted about 5 minutes before fading.

When I asked Mira about why the potion didn't seem very berserker-like, she explained that the potion was an extended-release version that lessened the effects as well as side effects to make it last longer.

It was based on the berserker skill, but because of how powerful the skill was, the drawbacks were equally as powerful, which is why the effects were diluted. It was a double-edged sword, but a good wild card to have when in a pinch.

The clothing was of no immediate use and the wig would probably rest in my storage for quite some time. The body tempering pill would go to me and hopefully can help upgrade my body in an all-around way, this was the equivalent of having a summon evolve from tier 2 to tier 3.

I wouldn't want to take it if all it did was increase my muscles but neglect my reflexes and speed. It was important to be versatile in all situations, not only in strategy but also in ability as well so you are that much harder to counter.

A bad matchup can easily decide a fight even if the losing monster was stronger. Pairing an ent against a fire-wielding imp would probably result in the ent losing even if it is stronger due to the elemental advantage of the imp which can transcend tiers.

Last but not least is the energy shield skill. It took me a while to properly decide what should be done with it, but I decided that I should obtain it to have an additional life-saving measure. It never hurt to have more of them, plus none of my summons really needed it.

...

After making the reservations at the Korean bbq restaurant, I mailed Alexis the info and told her that I would come and pick her up by the summoner association building where a large fountain nearby was. The fountain was not only easy to find, but it really was a piece of work with a spearman and dragon fighting each other, each detail was exquisitely crafted to the point you thought it was real.

I had Mira help find me clothes at a nearby store, and we eventually decided on a casual blue and white button-up shirt with black jeans. I thought I looked pretty good, but I was still nervous to see whether she like it or not.

I didn't have the faintest clue as to what she would be wearing, but it was hard to imagine her not looking good in anything. After all, she looked enchanting covered in blood during the monster break, so with time to clean up I could only imagine how good she would look.

It hadn't even really struck me that I had actually asked her on a date at the time, until I realized I needed to figure out a restaurant to eat at and what I should wear. By then I was freaking out a bit while also smiling at the thought that she agreed to go on a date with me, even if it was only because I promised her food.

I hadn't ever really focused on anyone like this ever, aside from Mira, but she doesn't count. I was new to any romantic feelings and didn't even know if she felt the same way. In some ways being a teenager doesn't change, apocalypse or not. It seemed being awkward and clueless was universal.

The first time I had seen her I was impressed more by her strength than her beauty, mostly due to her being a potential competitor in the tournament. After we had fought and she beat me, I saw her in a new light and she left an even greater impression on me.

Seeing her now gave me butterflies in my stomach and the odd compulsion to protect her, even though she can very clearly take care of herself. I was glad that we had decided to stick together even after the monster break had ended. We had been forced to trust and rely on each other and it seems as if we both felt a connection to each other.

I don't know where this will lead, or if she even likes me back, but at this point, I'm happy just being around her, I imagine I'll probably get to know her better before officially asking her to date me.

I'll probably ask Mira later for some advice when dealing with her in the future. Well, at least dealing with something other than her temper and hastiness, which made up a big part of her personality.

I guess red-heads having a personality to match their fiery hair was true, at least in her case, but I loved that about her. She was especially in tune with herself and knew what she wanted and liked, it was because he knew this that she acted in the way she did, at least as far as I knew.

......

I finally made it to the fountain I had told Alexis to meet me at, and just on time as I see her make her way over to the fountain as well. My mind goes blank for a moment looking at her in a gold and white skirt and a dark blue blouse that brought out her crimson hair and turquoise eyes.

I honestly couldn't recall her ever wearing a skirt, and it looked better on her than I thought it would, I had to struggle to maintain eye-contact with her rather than ogling at her now exposed legs.

With a herculean effort, I tore my eyes away and looked her in the eyes, I could feel a bit of a blush coming on, but I resisted looking away and losing our impromptu staring contest.

She also seemed to be blushing a bit from the uncomfortably intense staring, but she seemed determined not to lose and continued looking on at me without blinking. I realized she would continue this until I gave up, I cared far less about winning than she did, so it was usually me who ended up losing any contests.

I broke up the atmosphere by clearing my throat and saying, "Hey Alexis, you look great. Are you ready to go and get some dinner? I already made reservations, so we should be able to eat immediately."

She broke eye contact at this and was instead staring at my shoulder when she said, "Thank you, you don't look so bad yourself mister. I'm starving, bbq is my favorite so I can't wait."

She seemed to be speaking the truth because, when she mentioned bbq she began to salivate and even had an odd sparkle in her eye. I dismissed this as her just being her, I should have known there was something more to her words as I would soon come to find out.

I began to lead her, and we walked shoulder to shoulder while making small talk.

"So, what is it about Korean bbq that you like so much? I mean I love it too, but your eyes seemed to light up when I mentioned it"

"Well, I love the freshness and quality of the meat and the rich flavor when they are seared on a charcoal grill. There's nothing like it, the side dishes don't hurt either, my favorite is the spicy kimchi and pickled radish that goes great with the meat and rice."

I wasn't expecting a food review from her, but it was slightly entrancing the way she talked so fervently about something she liked so much, I hope I get to hear more about things she likes or just about her in general.

I was more than happy to listen to her talk, and I continued to ask questions about her in order to learn even more about my potential partner. She usually didn't stray into the too personal, but I learned a few things.

For one, she was an orphan like me, but she didn't have any siblings, and she had been adopted by an elderly gentleman who had lost his own son in the war a while ago. She adored him and was extremely grateful for him taking her in, she viewed him as more than just family and worked so hard to get strong and make money to pay him back for his kindness.

Her motivation was very similar to mine in this new world, and it seems that our similar motivations are just one more reason we should work together, and I say as much.

"I was an orphan before this new era, and the only family that I have now is my sister Mira, she is to me what the old man is to you. I also want to get stronger so I can protect and provide for her to repay all that she had done and sacrificed for me."

She just smiled at that shared connection and we walked on in comfortable silence after having revealed a small but significant part of ourselves.

It wasn't long after that we made it to the door of the Korean bbq restaurant, which was called Merlin's Grill. It was an odd enough name, but the food was great and the decor was simple but pleasing to the eye.

The booths were set up with comfy cushions and had scenes of epic battles between a wizard and monsters on the walls, the detail was impressive enough to give you the impression that it was a photo rather than a painting. One of the few things I miss about the old days was the ease of saving moments with pictures, but having no cameras in the summoning era makes that a bit hard.

At least art as a profession has come back into fashion, it's the only way to have pictures of your loved ones nowadays. Some of the better artists are commissioned to draw references for monsters, geography, plants, and the like for textbooks for students to learn about them. It's hard to learn to identify things without a reference to know what they actually look like rather than rely on the description.

Alexis and I sat across from each other and were staring intently on the menu to decide on what we wanted to order first.

By the time the waiter came around in a form-fitting black chef uniform, we were ready to order both our food and drinks. I got a spiced mead along with a double order of orc bulgogi, which was a marinated and thinly sliced sirloin. It was my favorite dish and orc meat was even richer than regular meat, so it would be especially tasty.

I had only eaten at Korean bbq once before in my life, it was a special treat from Mira for my birthday. She had been saving up and had gotten lucky with making some profits over a minor potion recipe she had helped develop. It was one of my favorite memories, and now I got to have another special meal with someone I had quickly grown close to.

Alexis ordered green tea and short ribs and brisket to start, and with our starting orders for our all-you-can-eat meal out we could focus on each other. We couldn't lean as close as we wanted in order to talk, due to the heat from the charcoal grill in the center of the table to cook our meat but we still managed.

"What are some of your favorite things Alexis?"

"I like candy, cute summons, and fighting"

"I shouldn't be surprised that you're a battle maniac see that you can more than keep up with me in a fight, and you didn't seem to shy away from any battles during the monster break either."

She just shrugged while seeming a bit embarrassed with what I had pointed out. Snapping out of her embarrassment, she asked me, "What about you, what is it that you like?"

"Hmm, I like learning, fighting, eating, my summons, and my sister Mira."

Our line of questioning was cut off by the arrival of our drinks and platters of meat to begin grilling. We set our meat on the fired-up grill and the sizzle of the pieces along the metal grid was immediate. The smell was mouth-watering, and it only made us that much more excited to begin eating.

We decided to split the available grill space in half for each of us, and while it was a bit crowded, we managed to evenly cook all of the pieces by constant attention and moving the meat around.

As soon as ours was cooked through, we began to devour our meal with gusto. The taste was indescribably rich and savory with a faint bit of sweetness from the marinade. It wasn't long before we ordered more of the same while including the sides like kimchi and rice with the occasional bite of meat to mix things up.

I was beginning to be happier about my decision to go to all-you-can-eat after seeing the impressive number of empty plates pile up. By the time we were full, we had managed to eat a total of 20 plates of food and neither of us felt like moving any time soon.

We settled down with our drinks and ate a slice of chocolate cake split between the two of us. We continued to idly chat and were having lots of fun with just the two of us.

Eventually, I manage to propose something I had been mulling over since this morning, "Alexis, we seem to get along pretty well, and have even saved each other's lives a few times. Would you like to continue partnering up and working together when hunting amongst other things?

I've been working by myself and I've started to finally feel the drawbacks of working with no one else. Things like being constantly vigilant and having fewer summons able to fight at once if there was a large amount of monsters, which could turn potentially deadly.

It would make me feel a lot safer not to mention richer with having us work together to fight bigger and more monsters with someone I can trust."

She seemed a bit shocked at the proposal but looked to be seriously considering what I had offered. After a minute of contemplation, she looked up at me and casually said, "Sure I'll work with you, I had been thinking the same thing, I just didn't know how to bring it up. It's rare for me to trust someone, but you've more than proved yourself during the monster break, so I would love to work together for now."

I couldn't keep the goofy smile off my face as we worked out the terms of us working together to prevent any issues down the line, it was important to lay down ground rules so that there aren't any fights over money and stuff like that.

We agreed upon splitting any and all profits, and any valuable cores and materials would go to whoever needed them. The only requirement would be to reciprocate the favor with the other partner by helping them as well, or at least paying them the number of credits they would have earned from selling it.

Obviously neither of us would allow any betrayal, but we didn't have to worry about that seeing as we had already proved we wouldn't abandon each other when things got dangerous.

With the terms agreed upon, we shook and enjoyed the rest of the dessert. We finished the cake not long after, and I covered the check which came out to a total of 205 credits, 100 credits for each of us to have an unlimited amount of meat and 5 for the cake.

This amount was nothing, and I added a 20 credit tip for our waiter, leaving me with 13,712 credits. The money was well spent and my date with Alexis had gone amazing as well, we decided to part ways here and made plans to meet up tomorrow for some hunting in the Marsh.