As they entered the white portal back to earth, they found themselves in the training hall, the same place where Erin had saved Quinn from his fate. They were still inside, meaning not a single bit of sun was touching her skin.
"Turns out you had nothing to worry about," the system said.
Erin quietly scowled in return.
Portals to Earth were white portals, marking Earth as a 'white portal planet' as it had no known beasts on them. Unlike other portals to other planets, Earth portals weren't randomized as humanity knew the exact coordinates to teleport someone. This is why when Faye entered the code on the reception computer, it was automatically set to teleport them back to military base 2.
"Fex, you head back to your dorm, Erin, you come with me," Faye said, "We'll get you a replacement watch."
Fex smiled, "Fine by me. I need a shower."
Fex left, leaving Erin with Faye and Leo. The moment was coming up where she was going to need to be prepared to use the influence skill.
{Erin} I'm back now, and they might find out I lost my ability, but I have a plan.
{Erin} In case that doesn't work out, know that I'm heading to Faye's office.
—
Quinn was in his dorm room when he saw the message from Erin. It had come to him as a shock, but he knew he needed to leave immediately. Getting up, he headed out of the room.
"What's got you in a hurry?" Peter said as he was reading over a level 2 earth ability book.
But Quinn didn't respond, he was already gone.
—
In Faye's office, the Sargent searched for a new watch for Erin to wear. Opening up a cabinet, she took one out.
"Thankfully, I have spare ones in my office. You're not the only one who's had their watch destroyed."
If Erin was alone, she wouldn't be as worried about being caught using the influence skill, but what was really troublesome was the fact that Leo was also in the room too. She wasn't sure if he would notice if she used the influence skill on Faye, if she had to use the influence skill on him as well, or if it even worked on someone who's blind. There were so many potential outcomes that could go wrong, but she had to deal with the hand she was dealt.
"To use the influence skill, you have to maintain eye contact with the person you're trying to influence," the system said, "then you have to state your command, but keep it as simple as possible. The more complicated it is, the lease likely it will work."
The system was giving her useful information for once, and she began to think of the words used for her command.
"Alright, it'll detect your current MC, and that's when we know it's on," Faye spoke, putting the watch on.
The watch's screen lit up, and Erin opened up her system, about to activate the influence skill. However, the display showed a number 1 for a split second before showcasing the number 5, leaving her both relieved and confused.
"Alright, looks like you're set. Since you're here, I would like your report on what happened."
Despite being told to explain something, Erin didn't immediately respond, and it was because of what she was seeing. Due to her enhanced eyesight as a vampire, she could see a very small spider on her watch, and it didn't look organic either. Even if a normal human had seen it, it would've looked like a normal spider, but she could see, just barely, how metallic it was.
[Inspect]
[Spider-bot]
[Creator: Logan Green]
It didn't reveal anything else about the spider, but it told Erin enough that this was man made, and by someone named Logan Green. For some reason, this person knew she was here, and what her situation was. The implications were troubling.
Faye snapped her fingers, getting back Erin's attention, but in the process, she lost where the spider went.
"The report?" She said, "Even though we have already heard the other side of the story, we still need yours."
"What?" Erin realized that she was being asked something, and shook her head, "So you already found out who pushed me into the portal? Why do you need my report then?"
"It's just to confirm that it matches up with what we were told," Faye explained, "The second year who was responsible came forward and admitted it. General Duke is dealing with the punishment as we speak."
{Quinn} I'm almost there, just hold on.
{Erin} It turned out fine. Somehow, my watch says the number 5 on it now.
{Quinn} How? Were you able to somehow hack it with the system? Or was your old watch malfunctioning?
{Erin} It has to do with the spider bot I inspected. We'll talk more about this later, but Faye is asking for my report as to what happened.
{Quinn} Lie! Don't tell her it was Peter.
Erin blinked. Somehow, Quinn knew that what Faye knew was false, but she still absolutely hated the boy for almost pushing Quinn into a red portal planet. Currently, she had the chance to set the facts straight, and get Peter punished
{Quinn} I know that you hate Peter, and I did too, but he had his reasons.
{Quinn} He doesn't deserve to be punished anymore by them.
Erin was very glad that the system messages were quite instantaneous, as sending a message was as fast as thinking, and reading them was as fast as comprehending words.
Despite Quinn telling her to lie to protect Peter, Erin was following his words for different reasons. As much as she wanted to tell the truth that it was Peter who was at fault of it all, that meant someone else was going to punish him, and she did promise to get back at him for what he had done.
Erin told Faye that she went into the portal room with Fex to find someone, only to be pushed in by a person who she didn't recognize. When pressed on the features of the second year student to confirm it was actually him, Erin lied and said she was too busy focusing on the fact she was getting pushed than to look at the boy's face.
It probably could've happened with Erin's habit of struggling to remember people's faces, so it was easier to lie about that part.
Since Erin's report lined up with what they knew of the situation, Erin was allowed to leave. However, before she was fully let go, Leo had placed a hand on her shoulder, before whispering in her ear.
"Meet up with me after class tomorrow."
—
Quinn had stopped walking on his way to Faye's office when Erin told him that her watch was somehow displaying the number 5 now. Instead, he decided to send Erin another message to confirm something.
{Quinn} Did you tell her the truth?
{Erin} Where's your roommate?
{Quinn} Huh?
{Quinn} Roommate? Did you mean Fex?
{Erin} I know who Fex is, I'm talking about the guy who almost pushed you in, idiot.
{Erin} I just want to have a talk…
Suddenly, Quinn felt like Erin could take care of herself, and in fact it wasn't her that was in danger, but someone else entirely.
'I should head back, for Peter's sake,' Quinn thought before running to his dorm.