《New Game Plus》 Prologue: Story of Thoth In the world of Sykerion, magic exists. Along with magic, a world phenomenon known has the "System" is something that people take for granted. Although the world contained magic and the "System," the technology was equivalent to the medieval era as we would know it. Similar to what one would find in an "Video-Game based light novel," they can recite "Status" in their minds to bring up a magic screen that can only be seen by themselves. The "Status" screen displays their abilities in numerical values, along with descriptions of their abilities. Their status can be recorded onto a magic plate that automatically updates itself based on changes in "Status." Unlike in an actual video game though, they cannot input "Stat points" or "Skill points" to influence their growth, and can only grow naturally. During the year 434, a man named Thoth was born in the capital city known as Krystalia. At first, people believed that he''s probably retarded due to the fact that he didn''t even make a single sound ever since he was born. At the age of 6 though, just before his parents would give up hope on his future, he spoke his first words. Actually, he spoke a full proper sentence, and displayed knowledge beyond what a child should know. Although his personality and speech patterns were dull and apathetic, his parents still loved him none-the-less. Soon after, out of boredom, he decided to train his magic, becoming a prodigy at an extremely young age. At the age of 8, he started to train his body along with practicing magic, and took hand-to-hand combat lessons from his father. Showing even more improvement in his physical abilities rather than magic, he decides to become a fighter rather than a mage. At the age of 10, he obtains permission from both parents to travel on his own, travelling on a journey to "find something fun to do." At first, he became well known for his wide range of magical abilities, able to manipulate any and every element known. Raising his reputation, only after 5 years passed by was he forced to finally display his physical abilities, during his participation in an annual tournament. In the finals, he blew away his opponent with a single punch, and caught the attention of the king. He was requested to become a hero for the kingdom of Atalin, which he accepted due to his interest being piqued at the thought of fighting the demon lord. Awaiting the arrival of the demon invasion, foretold by the oracle, he trained for the next 11 years, and finally the invasion began. He repelled the entire demon army back within a year, and fought a final battle with the demon lord, who was stronger than he predicted. At the end, as the price of completely obliterating the demon lord, he received a fatal wound straight to the chest, piercing his heart. Slightly disappointed that he couldn''t find a hobby for himself at the end, he was satisfied that he was actually killed in battle. As he closed his eyes, waiting for death, he hears a voice in his head that he was very familiar with. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! "[Demon Lord] has been defeated. Received [Error] experience. Level has been increased." ''Heh, what good does that do when I''ve already reached the maximum level possible.'' He thought to himself. "Conditions for [Second Life] has been fulfilled. Obtained skill: [New Game Plus]." Unable to hear what the system says, his mind drifts off due to the heavy blood loss from the wound. The pain slowly begins disappearing, and a feeling of relief runs through him. Strangely though, the surroundings around him becomes warm and tight. When he opens his eyes though, everything is completely dark. ''Is death supposed to be like this?'' He tries to move around, but the walls are extremely slippery and something is attached to his stomach. Soon enough, something grabs his head, and pulls on him. He doesn''t resist and closes his eyes, waiting until the force finishes pulling him out whatever he''s inside of. It feels similar to emerging from a monster''s mouth after letting yourself be eaten alive to kill it from the inside. Why would he know such a thing? Because he did it as an experiment in the past, to see how dangerous being eaten alive was. When the process is finally finished, he attempts to open his eyes, but they are momentarily blinded from the bright light of the environment around him. He waits for his eyes to adjust to the light, and reopens his eyes. He sees a man right in front of him, wearing a small white cloth around his mouth, and wore strange clothes that he''s never seen before. Realizing that the man in front of him was actually able to hold him, he unconsciously used magic to determine the situation around him, and realized that he''s much smaller than before. He also noticed that a certain part of him was missing. ''Life is seriously playing a joke on me now, huh?'' Based on what the situation he found himself in, he realized that he has been reincarnated into a baby. Not only that, but a female as well. Chapter 1: The New World Six years have passed since my birth, and my parents are worried for me. The reason? Pretty much because my birth had the exact same scenario that occurred in my previous life. The doctor had labelled me as ¡®retarded,¡¯ due to a couple of reasons. Not only that, but I also have not let out my voice ever since the day of my birth, worrying my parents even further. But this is pretty much what happened during my birth;
After I was pulled out of the darkness that was supposedly my mother¡¯s womb, I tried to open my eyes to see what was going on. Unfortunately, I was unable to see anything at all. My vision was blurred, and I could hardly make out what colors were around me at the moment. I could barely even move my body, but strangely, I can still feel mana flowing through me. Since I wasn¡¯t able to use my sight, I decide to use magic instead. Using one of my [Wind Spells], [Clairvoyant eyes], I was able to create an ethereal ¡®Third Eye¡¯ that granted me vision of my surrounding area at the cost of losing vision from my real eyes for the duration of the spell. I wasn¡¯t able to use them anyway, so I wasn¡¯t really losing anything from using this spell. When I was finally able to see again due to this spell, I was shown a bird eye¡¯s view of the room my body was in. Right away, I can see a beautiful woman lying in a bed, and a man standing next to her holding a newborn baby. It seems that she had just given birth, and that the man next to her was a doctor. Since I couldn¡¯t see anyone else in the room, I could only assume that I was the newborn child that the doctor was holding. It seems like I¡¯ve been reincarnated, which surprised me greatly. Never have I ever heard of something like this happening in my previous life, yet here I am in the body of another. As I was about to stop using [Clairvoyant Eyes], I suddenly notice a detail on my new body that shocked me greatly. I was missing a certain something in the lower part of my body. Seeing it gone, it must mean that I¡¯ve been played by fate. Since I was reincarnated as a female. Now, it¡¯s not like I have anything against women. But being one isn¡¯t something I wished for. This is mainly due to body physique, something that would affect me greatly since I was used to the larger body frame of a male. The area that is affected most by this is mainly combat; I would have to get used to the body of an agile fighter relying on speed rather than a warrior that fights with raw strength. Getting used to something like that would take a while, even if I started training from a young age. Trying to overwrite 20 years of a certain combat style will be difficult, after all. If it wasn''t for that, I could care less about whether I had breasts or not. Letting out a mental sigh, I cut off the ¡®Third Eye¡¯ and my vision becomes extremely blurry again. I felt the doctor wiping my body before doing a series of random things to my body. I simply remained as still as possible without uttering a sound, only to find out later that he was examining my body¡¯s functions and reflexes. So my decision of remaining still contributed to one of the facts that I was retarded, along with my silence. After the doctor was done with his tests, I was handed over to another pair of arms, which I assume were my mother¡¯s. After a few minutes, I hear the two yelling at each other in the language I was quite familiar with. Something about how I should be in the custody of the hospital to check for any further problems and figure out if I can be healed early. But I completely ignore that, as my body was getting tired. Before long, I found myself asleep in the warm arms of my mother, only waking up after I¡¯ve been taken back to the house. Given the name, ¡®Aria Brynhildr,¡¯ this was how my new life started off as a newborn human.
Despite being told about my ¡®disabilities,¡¯ my parents still raised me dotingly. This was something new to me, since my previous family wasn¡¯t as loving. Unfortunately, this also meant they spent a lot of time monitoring me, making sure I didn¡¯t hurt myself in anyway possible. Their surveillance over me has relaxed ever since my fourth birthday, finally giving me chances to research what happened after my death. For the next couple of years onwards, I spent most of my time studying like this. Basically, it¡¯s been approximately two millenniums since the war of between humans and demons, which was called the [Demon War]. The bodies of both the [Demon Lord] and I were never found, strangely, but the rest of the world took it as complete, mutual destruction. Right afterwards, they eradicated the ¡®evil¡¯ that was the [Demon Race], and peace was supposed to return to the world. It never did, though, due to the greed and corruption of humans in power. With the force threatening the human race now gone, allying kingdoms no longer have any reason to work together. The extinction of the [Demon Race] had lead to new opportunities for land and resources, which lead to conflict between the powering countries of Sykerion. Eventually, the great war between the humans ¨C which would later be called the[Sykerion War] ¨Cstarted and lasted for an entire century, leading to a death count much higher than the previous war. Ending with a tactical explosion onto the most powerful country at the time, the war finally came to a stop. With history written from the perspective of the victor, the winning countries being the ¡®good guys,¡¯ the losing ones being the ¡®tyrannical villains.¡¯ Thankfully, the world finally underwent an era of peace for an entire millennium. At the same time, technology advanced at a rapid pace with inventions I would have never even dreamed of. At some point, they developed technology that utilized ¡®electricity,¡¯ something that greatly increased the potential of the human race to unknown heights. Devices such as ¡®computers¡¯ and ¡®phones¡¯ were created, carriages were replaced with ¡®motor vehicles¡¯ such as cars, motorbikes and such. Weapon technology has also greatly advanced, introducing a new type of weapon known as ¡®guns.¡¯ The world remained somewhat peaceful compared to my time, other than the occasional terrorist group that attempts to pull the world into chaos. Unfortunately, it was impossible to maintain this peace, due to a sudden event announced by the [System]. The exact message was not recorded in the books, but the announcement was the cause of a large scale change throughout the world. Several strange structures were erected randomly, standing several stories tall. Forests, deserts, swamps, and other natural landscapes were transformed completely. On top of these changes, several new species of hostile animals were inhabiting these areas, which were classified as [Monsters]. These areas were labelled as [Dungeons], an area where hostile creatures were gathered for unknown reasons. Many expeditions were lead by severaldifferentkingdoms to try and ¡®clear¡¯ these dungeons, but nearly every attempt was met with extreme casualties. Even if they were successful in clearing the dungeon, they were unable to destroy it. At best, they were able to make it dormant by reaching the core of the dungeon and deactivate it by defeating the [Dungeon Master]. This causes the monsters created bythe dungeon to be unable to leave its territory, allowing people to set up settlements nearby without worry. Countries began giving out rewards and bounties for the capture of these dungeons, and many small mercenary groups were formed at around this time. These consisted mostly of combatants who were confident in their skill, driven by factors such as greed or experience to become stronger. As the mercenary groups continued to explore the various dungeons throughout the world, they discovered that by exploring the weaker ones first, one can get stronger and train their abilities before entering the more powerful dungeons. This discovery lead to the creation of the [Adventurer¡¯s Guild], an organization that mainly handled dungeon exploration and monster subjugations. The members of this organization were known as [Adventurers], and requests could be made to them via [Guild Halls]. Although they were small at first, it expanded at an exponential rate, and soon enough became a worldwide organization within a century. In the present day, nearly every city and town has erected their own [Guild Halls] for adventurers. Over the course of three centuries, due to the influence of [Adventurers], every known dungeon on Sykerion had been conquered, and the voice of the [System] resounded through the world once again. This time, someone actually had the thought to write down what they heard, which was; "Conditions for [World Gates] has been fulfilled. Access to [Worlds] has been granted. [Sykerion System] has been upgraded. [Stat Allocation] is now accessible. Level limit has been increased by 100. Stat limit has been increased by 2,000." Just like when the [Dungeons] first spawned, several strange structures were formed around the world. They were large in size, and was shaped as a circular gate. These were referred to as [World Gates] by the system, and just like the name implied, they were portals that led people to worlds different from ours. Excited to explore them, adventurers quickly travelled through them and came back with information about where each gate brought them to. Most of them were just planets that had several more dungeons and monsters, while a few of them brought us to worlds that had civilization of different races. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The rest of the history about Sykerion mainly consisted of famous adventurers that have accomplished amazing feats, and the development of this world¡¯s relations to the other worlds. The [World System] for Sykerion has been developed several times since then, and the current level cap is now 1000. Something I could have never dreamed of during the time I was alive. I¡¯m honestly amazed at these developments, and extremely excited, hoping that I grow up faster. I want to quickly become independent, and explore these dungeons and worlds that I¡¯ve never been to!
Although I got pumped up, my excitement quickly went away due to the fact that I can¡¯t influence my rate of growth. Whether I like it or not, I¡¯m a six year old child at the moment, and there¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to be able to become independent any time soon. Maybe I should start talking to my parents soon, considering that I haven¡¯t used my vocal chords ever since I had been reincarnated. As if my social skills weren¡¯t bad enough, here I am refusing to even talk to my parents. I should probably try and change myself before it¡¯s too late. But before that, I need to fix some things that may compromise my position as a normal human being. Since I want to explore new dungeons and the other worlds peacefully, I¡¯m going to have to try and hide this ridiculous status of mine. When I examined first my status a couple of years ago, I nearly flipped the table I was eating off of, completely baffled by what appeared on the screen. I mean, look at this, it¡¯s just unbelievable!
Name Aria Brynhildr
Age 6 Years Old
Gender Female
Titles [Elementalist] [Heartless] [Fallen Hero] [Demon Slayer] [Immortal Slayer] [Devil Slayer] [Boundless] [Army of One] [World Power]
Classes [Mystical Knight] [Martial Warlord] [Absolute Destroyer]
Level 3122
Health 5,277,025
Mana 7,370,625
Strength 65,157
Agility 67,663
Arcanery 62,735
To start off, it seems like I¡¯ve kept all my titles and skills from my previous life. On top of that, they¡¯ve been upgraded heavily due to the large amount of experience I obtained from defeating the [Demon Lord], which seems a bit too excessive in my opinion, because reaching this level from just merely defeating him meant that his level would¡¯ve been somewhere above 5000. Which would''ve beenwell beyond 500 times my strength at the time, so me defeating him would¡¯ve been impossible. The more likely explanation is that the [System] granted me bonus experience for random achievements that I didn¡¯t know. I can vaguely remember hearing it say that I obtained some broken amount ofexperience from winning the battle when I died, and it probably announced what I''ve accomplished in order to obtain that much experience. Unfortunately, the only listener during that would¡¯ve been my cold, dead body. Well, leaving that aside, it seems like I¡¯ve obtained a new title along with my upgraded status. Also, my title as the [Hero] is now [Fallen Hero]. Probably to rub in the fact that I died. The new title was called [New Game Plus], and it basically allows me to surpass both the level limit and the ability limit, hence why my current status was 3 times larger than the [World System]¡¯s level limit. The condition for it was to accomplish the impossible it seems, which was defeating the [Demon Lord] on my own in this case. This skill is also the reason why I¡¯m even able to stand here today. It granted me a second life, allowing me to be reborn some random amount of time after my death. At this point, it feels like the [System]¡¯s saying to me; Have a carefree, easy life now, Thoth. You¡¯ve earnt it. Thanking the [System] in my head, I will go along as intended and just casually live my current life. In all honestly, I don¡¯t want to be recognized everywhere I go, and consistently invited by countries and kingdoms to join them. My war potential was pretty much akin to several armies just by being on my own, so there was no end to the assassination, blackmail and coercion attempts from the various super powers during my previous life. This time, I¡¯ll do what I can to avoid living a life like that! Though I say that, a goal like that is practically impossible. Especially since I¡¯m absolutely dying from waiting to explore dungeons and encounter monsters I¡¯ve never fought before, my combat ability will be revealed whether I like it or not. The best I can do is just delay the inevitable interest of powerful organizations. In that case, I¡¯ll change my goal a bit. I¡¯ll do my best to hold off attracting any major attention for as long as I can! First things first, I¡¯m going to need to find a way to either hide my status, or just curse myself to reduce my abilities greatly. Fortunately, I was able to find a quick solution to this problem. Currently, in front of me, there is a roll of cloth bandages in front of me. If one were to look at it, they would literally see a deathly miasma leaking from it, obviously indicating that it was cursed heavily. As to where I got this dangerous item, the answer to that would be my father''s study. He seems to be working as some sort of ¡®Magic Researcher¡¯ for someone pretty influential, since he often brings in ancient relics and cursed items like these to study them. These items were locked up in a storage room that had several magi barriers to prevent intruders from entering and stealing anything. It was also to prevent me from carelessly entering and touching the artifacts. Sadly, barriers at that level had no way to stop me. I just simply disabled them during the night while my parents were sleeping, and took the cursed item just like that. Of course I restored the barriers upon leaving, before returning to my room. I hid the item under my mattress until morning, concealing the miasma by using magic. Now it''s the afternoon, so my mother is currently out shopping for grocery, and my father is busy in his study. Right now, I should be clear to figure out how this item worked without getting caught. Unfortunately, I did not recognize this item, so I had no idea what it does exactly. As far as I saw, this was the most dangerous, curse-like item within the stash of artifacts that didn''t have a chance of killing me or destroying this house. Since I have no idea what to do, the first thing I''ll do is unroll it. Upon doing so, it revealed a series of demonic symbols drawn in the inside of the cloth. The source of the miasma most likely comes from here. After rolling out the full length of the cloth, I spend a bit of time examine the symbols to figure out what they do exactly. It took me a few minutes to understand that they basically drain a massive portion of the user¡¯s stats in return for increased growth. I decide to try wrapping a small portion of it on my forearm to see how effective it is. At least, I wanted to do that, but as I began doing so, the cloth suddenly began wrapping itself around my body on its own. Within five seconds, the bandage managed to completely cover my body from head to toe, turning me into a mummy. Finally getting over my shock from the abnormal scene that just happened, I immediately try pulling off the cloth, but even with my extreme strength, it wouldn''t tear at all. Right afterwards, I try to dispel it with the highest form of anti-curse magic that I had in my arsenal, but even that failed to accomplish anything. Who the heck designed this stupid thing!? The old Demon Lord himself!? This isn''t good at all, I need to do something about this before my parents see me¡­ is what I thought until I heard the door to my open. The person who opened it? My mother who just got back from shopping. Chapter 2: The Family A loud scream resounded throughout the Brynhildr household. The source? My panicking mother currently standing at the doorway to my room. ¡°Aria! Are you okay!? What happened to you!? How did this happen!? Are you injured anywhere!?¡± Shooting out several questions in a single breath, my mother rushes to my side in an instant. She nearly pulls me into her arms to hug me, but manages to stop herself from doing so. Most likely worried that she may worsen whatever possible injuries that were hiding under the bandages, she doesn''t make any rash actions towards me and just stands there, clueless on what to do in this situation. ¡°Hana!? What''s wrong!? Did something happen to Aria!?¡± My father quickly appears at the doorway, completely confused about the situation at hand. ¡°Kieran! Why does Aria look like this!? What happened while I was away!?¡± Upon seeing her husband at the door,my mother immediately goes over and starts shaking him wildly by the shoulders, demanding answers. She finally calms herself down after half an hour, allowing my father to come examine my condition ¡°This is¡­!¡± Using magic to try and figure out why my appearance was like this, he easily detects the curse within the bandages. ¡°What''s wrong, Kieran? Is she in danger!?¡± Seeing his reaction, tears start welling up in my mother¡¯s eyes. ¡°No, not at all! According to my research on the bandages wrapping her, she is heavily cursed at the moment. Her stats should be extremely low, but otherwise, her life is not at risk.¡± He explains to her. ¡°Thank goodness¡­¡± Letting out a sigh of relief, my mother wipes the tears from her light blue eyes. ¡°I''d like to know how this got misplaced outside my study, but more importantly, how are you feeling, Aria?¡± Seeing my parents¡¯ honest emotions of worry and relief actually made me feel slightly guilty. Wanting to try and open up to them, I decide to say something. ¡°...I''m fine¡­¡± Speaking for the first time since my rebirth, the both of them froze in place. After about ten seconds have passed, they finally processed what happened in their head. ¡°It''s¡­ it¡¯s a miracle! Kieran, she spoke, she''s finally said something to us! It¡¯s a blessing!¡± My mother immediately becomes excited and hugs my father with glee, spinning him around. A scene that would normally be the other way around, but my mother was the warrior of the family instead of my wizard father. I don''t know why but seeing this scene relieved the guilt in my heart slightly. ¡°That''s great and all, Hana, but isn''t this a bit dangerous!? You''re gonna smash my body against the furniture!¡± My father yells, clearly getting dizzy from the spinning. ¡°Oh Kieran, I can''t help it! I''m just so happy that she''s finally talking to us! Actually, here, let mommy give you a hug, Aria!¡± Letting go of my father, my mother shifts her target to me, and quickly wraps her arms around me. Pulling me into her bosom, she rapidly spins me around as well. It took quite a long time for her to calm down, and both my parents eventually left my room. Although it was quite chaotic at the end, it was as obvious as day that my parents cared for me greatly. Honestly, I couldn¡¯t have asked for better parents than these two. Not that the ones in my previous lifetime treated me badly, it¡¯s just that the mother and father I have now are much more gentle and loving. I vow to myself to treasure these precious memories with them until the day I leave for the outside world.
A month has passed by since that event, time which I spent between studying about the current world and doing family activities with my parents. They¡¯ve been taking me outside more recently to places such as the park and library. Both of them were also pretty well known in the community, often being greeted by the locals wherever we went. Though they were baffled at first to why I was completely wrapped in bandages, my parents were always able to find an excuse as to why my appearance was like this. As for my research, it appears that I¡¯m residing in the city of Forlin, which was the new capital of Atalin. The previous capital was completely transformed into an S-Ranked dungeon, so it was quickly abandoned and relocated to here, the second largest city within the kingdom. It was one of the least popular dungeons for the elite adventurers to explore, since the monsters mainly consisted of undead creatures that had resistance to several different weapons and elements, added on top of their high health and strength. Out of the eight countries that were around during my time, three of them were destroyed during the [World War] between the humans in the past. One other country fell into ruin due to the overwhelming amount of dungeons that appeared within their lands, the abandoned towns and cities now occupied by thieves, bandits, rogues and other cutthroats squatting there. Although these three countries have been wiped out, nine more countries has risen since then. Most of them were occupying land in other continents that were discovered during the [Pioneering Age], something that took place just before the arrival of the [Dungeons]. They all grew in power at an extremely rapid place, developing technology unique to their own country, and followed a variety of different customs and religions.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. If there was anything in common between the current countries that stand today, it¡¯s that they all had their own unique [Heroes]. Back then, this title was meant to go to the one who was destined to defeat the [Demon Lord], but now, it¡¯s a title to signify the strongest warrior of a country¡¯s military force. And it¡¯s not like these people were only barely above the average elite soldier, it seems like they all possessed abilities far beyond the norm. Even the weakest hero from the thirteen countries is capable of razing a city on his own, or so the books says. In all honesty, I really want to face all of them in single combat, just to see how strong a [Hero] of this generation is. My expectations are fairly high, due to the fact that they held the same title as I did in the past. If they¡¯re any weaker than I was in my previous life, then I¡¯ll purge them of their abilities on the spot. And by that I mean that I¡¯ll maim them and curse them heavily, for holding the title of a [Hero] without the proper strength. Anyway, that was pretty much everything I was curious about when it came to this new [Sykerion] that I wasn¡¯t familiar with. Anything else that I didn¡¯t know, I wanted to discover and learn about in person, since it would be more enjoyable that way. After all, wandering around in search of something fun to do was pretty much all I did in my previous life, and I¡¯ll do the same in this one.
Now that I think about it, I don¡¯t know much about my parents. Although they were held in high esteem by others, I didn¡¯t know anything about their current occupations or their past. Curious about who they really were, I decide to ask them directly while we set up a spot in the nearby park for a stargazing session. Apparently it''s supposed to be occurring sometime this week, so several other families were also setting up blankets and chairs nearby to watch the night sky. ¡°Oh my, you want to know my past? Well, let¡¯s see¡­ where should I start?¡± I chose to ask my mother first about her past while we wait outside for the stars to come out. As far as I know, her name was Hana Brynhildr, a woman from a prestigious family that directly served the King of Atalin in the past. Taller than most men I¡¯ve seen in my life, she stood well over six feet tall, perhaps reaching the seven foot mark. Despite being so large, she was still a very beautiful woman that seemed like she was in her prime. My sky blue hair appears to have come from her, which was a unique color that no one ever had in my previous life. Overall she is an active, yet, gentle lady who seems treats everyone with kindness. Because of this, she has a lot of admirers within the city. Although I inherited most of my features from her, the only things I¡¯m praying not to have are those large ¡®melons¡¯ that easily catches the eye of men. They¡¯d definitely be hindering me in the future. ¡°How about you tell her about your younger years? There should be some interesting stories to tell, would there not be?¡± My father suggests. ¡°Great idea, Kieran! Are you okay with listening to that, Aria?¡± Nodding my head in confirmation, she begins right away with an excited expression. ¡°Okay then! In the past, I used to be a captain of a group of knights, you know? We were the strongest company within the military back then, often going around to explore dungeons in another world! The place we explored most was known as the [Immortal Realm], an area that is full of [S-Ranked] [Dungeons]. Everyone used to call me the [Valkyrie of Bullets] in the past, since I was capable of using any type of weapon as long as it fired a bullet. As to why I can do this, it¡¯s only because I¡¯ve practiced quite a lot with guns, and I received the [Gun Valkyrie] class in response!¡± With a prideful look, she begins to tell me a story of a great battle she once had with a mythical creature, but was quickly stopped by her husband. ¡°When I suggested talking about your younger years, I meant your childhood, not your adventures as a soldier. I highly doubt that our six year old daughter will be able to understand anything about it.¡± His interruption got him a cold glare from my mother, but he simply shrugs it off. My father, Kieran Brynhildr, is the rational and intelligent person in our family of three. At least, when it comes to anything other than me, that is. Contrary to my mother¡¯s large stature, he was shorter than the average man, and his facial features seems delicate, if not fragile. He could easily pass off as a female if he tried, though that''s not something I''d like to imagine. His hair is a purple ombre color, while his eye color is something similar to the color of steel. He''s often the one doing the domestic chores around the house instead of my mother, since my mother was practically incapable of anything related to housework. He''s much more mature and reliable when compared to my mother. ¡°You''re only saying that because your accomplishments aren''t as distinguished as mine! Hmph!¡± Turning away with a pout, she lets out a cheap provocation on the same level as a child¡¯s insult. There''s no way my father would actually fall for it. ¡°Is that so!? Well then, Aria, let papa here tell you about his feats!¡± What happened to that mature and reliable father I was just praising in my head a while ago? Are you seriously getting competitive over something like this!? ¡°In the past, I was also working under the kingdom as a [Royal Wizard], a prestigious position that had me directly serve the king himself. I was known for being the youngest person in history to have taken such a position, so many nobles envied me greatly, often attempting to have me assassinated. My nickname in the past was [Skyfall], since nearly everyone who faces me in combat feels like the sky is pushing them into the ground. This is because of my class, [Gravity Wizard], which allows me to use some forms of [Spatial Magic] magic.¡± He began to name the variety of spells and techniques he was capable of using, throwing out several terms that even some adults would have trouble understanding. ¡°...stars.¡± With perfect timing, a shooting star flies across the sky, giving me a reason to end this competition about who was the more impressive person. ¡°Ah, you''re right! Kieran, look!¡± Changing gears as quickly as ever, my mother points to the sky as the meteor shower starts to appear. For the rest of the time, we watched the dark sky until midnight, before returning home. Although I was pretty much used as my mother''s hug toy throughout the entire session, it''s not that I disliked it, so I didn''t struggle. I was content with what I''ve learnt today, and my parents are smiling over the fact that we just had a special experience together as a family. Chapter 3: The Status Plate ¡°Happy Birthday, Aria!¡± That¡¯s the greeting my parents gave me as I walk down from the second floor, half drowsy from just waking up a few minutes ago. It seems that breakfast had just finished being prepared, since my dad was currently laying it out on the table while my mother and I took our seats. ¡°Quickly, Aria, let¡¯s eat! Today¡¯s the day that you finally get your [Status Card!]¡± Obviously excited, my mother quickly starts eating her breakfast. ¡°Calm down, Hana, the [Guild Hall] isn¡¯t going to run away. It only takes but half an hour to obtain a status card from there.¡± Having just finished making his own breakfast, my father sits down at the table and starts eating while my mother was already halfway finished. ¡°But there¡¯s plenty of other things I want to do with Aria throughout the day~! Besides, I want to know how much talent our little girl has, since she¡¯s such a smart kid!¡± ¡°Eating faster won¡¯t make get us there faster, since you can only go when Aria and I are finish. May as well enjoy your meal.¡± Upon hearing this, my mother does slow down, but a hint of restlessness was still in her expression. When we all leave the house after we finish eating, heading towards the [Guild Hall] via my father¡¯s red hatchback. It wasn¡¯t anything special compared to the other citizens in the city, since my dad didn¡¯t really like splurging his money on pointless things. As he whistles to a song being played on the radio, my mother decides to start ask me a question to relieve her boredom. ¡°Hey, hey, Aria, do you have any idea on what you want to be when you grow up? Maybe be a mage like your dad, or a soldier like mommy here?¡± She asks me, who was sitting in the backseat of the car. ¡°Don¡¯t ask her questions like that, she¡¯s a bit too young to know what kind of career she¡¯ll pursue. Maybe she wants to do something related to books, since she loves to read. Perhaps a librarian or a writer? A job as a soldier of the country is a bit dangerous, after all.¡± ¡°Muu¡­ she¡¯s our daughter, so don¡¯t you think she¡¯d have inherited our qualities? Like my bravery and strength, or your willpower and concentration! Besides, if she does know what she wants to be, we could send her to a specialized school to give her a head start against her peers and rivals!¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯d be nice, though I¡¯m not so sure about sending her to a school here in Forlin. Most of the school here tend to accommodate a lot of nobles, both native and foreign nobles. I¡¯d rather not let our little girl go to a place like that, where she may be harassed for being a middle class citizen. Besides, I think she¡¯s too young to have developed enough mana for magic, I think it¡¯d be best for her to wait a few years before choosing a specialized school, just like a normal child.¡± The car enters a parking lot as he says this, and I see a very large building that I assumed to be the [Guild Hall]. ¡°We¡¯re here now, so let¡¯s save this conversation for later and head inside, shall we?¡± My father says as he parks the car, not allowing my mother the chance to reply as he shuts down the car engine. We enter the [Guild Hall] together, a place that I¡¯ve never been to before, and I was amazed at the architecture inside. It looked so much more amazing compared to the grand castles I¡¯ve been invited to as the [Hero] in the past; more detailed, much larger, and extremely extravagant. My parents smile upon seeing me restlessly look around. They decide to leave me alone for a bit and head towards the receptionist desk. As I wander around the place to examine everything, another family of three enters the building. Normally I would look away and ignore anyone that I wasn''t familiar with, but someone there caught my eye. A young boy who seemed to be around my age, had an appearance that I was very familiar with. Short black hair, dark brown eyes, and a mole on the left cheek. This boy looked exactly like I did in my previous life. ¡°Oh, Captain, what a coincidence! You''re here as well, along with Kieran!¡± The mother immediately greets my mom, which surprised me. The fact that she called my mother ¡®Captain¡¯ meant that she was a soldier working under her command in the past.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°Lisa? Wow, it''s been so long! You''ve changed so much now!¡± My mother heads over to the woman called Lisa, and exchanged greetings with their family. I stayed where I was, too shy to go over and join them since my mother would most likely try to make me speak to them. A few minutes later, my father finishes filling out all the necessary paperwork, and calls me over. ¡°Aria, here, hold this.¡± He hands me a metal card as I come up to him, and I could see that it was completely blank. Upon touching it though, I felt a something similar to an electrical shock run through my body for a split second, and the card finally displayed my status information.
Name Aria Brynhildr
Age 8Years Old
Gender Female
Level 3
Health 5,250
Mana 7,280
Strength 65
Agility 67
Arcanery 62
To my convenience, a lot of information had been left out, such as my titles and my classes. Although they might be confused about why I''m already level three, I''m sure they''ll make their own conclusions about it. The biggest problem here is my actual stats that are clearly higher than what a child had. Perhaps I could try to cast an illusion spell to change the information before they see it? ¡°So, what does the card say? Let me have a look.¡± Standing behind me to peek over my shoulder, my father examines my card, before his expression freezes. ¡°Wait, Aria received her [Status Card] already? Why didn''t you tell me! Let me see, let me see!¡± My mother comes over shortly afterwards, and grabs the card out of my hands. Just like her husband, as soon as she saw the information displayed, she froze on the spot. Confused, the receptionist also walked over and took a peek at the card, only to react the same way. ¡°Kieran. This is a dream, isn''t it? I''ll be waking up any moment now, and then we''ll be taking Aria to the [Guild Hall] to get her [Status Card] for real, then we''ll-¡± ¡°Hana, this is real. Our daughter has a status of an average, working adult at the age of eight years old.¡± ¡°...¡± An awkward moment of silence between us and the receptionist fills the air, before things got wild. ¡°Kieran! Kieran! Our little girl is an amazing prodigy! Despite being wrapped in those terrible bandages, she still has such a status! It''s almost like she''s been blessed!¡± Pulling me into a tight hug, my mother begins to spin me around in joy. The receptionist quickly went back behind the counter as to not disturb us and proceeds to help the other family with whatever they needed. ¡°A blessing, huh? That may be the reason why she has those stats. Perhaps it''s also negating the power of the bandages, so she isn''t affected by it at all.¡± How lucky of me, my parents seems to have come to their own conclusion about my abilities. ¡°What should we do, Kieran? Actually, wait, Aria, what do you want to do? Is there anything you want to be when you grow up? It''s important to tell us early so we can help you however we can while you''re still young!¡± Finally stopping her spinning, my mother puts me down and asks me a question that I already had the answer to. ¡°Don''t pressure her, Hana, give her some time to think of a choice. She won''t be able to-¡± ¡°An adventurer.¡± Interrupting my father, I state my decision to the both of them without hesitation. Both of them were taken aback from how loudly and confidently I spoke, since I¡¯ve never projected my voice like this before. ¡°That should be fine.¡± My mother answers me first, surprising me at how fast it came without any hesitation. ¡°Eh!? Hana, are you sure about this!? Being an adventurer is far more dangerous than any other occupation out there!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be such a coward, dear. We both pursued dangerous careers revolved around combat as well, she shouldn¡¯t deny our own child her chance to do so as well. Can¡¯t you tell how set she is on becoming one?¡± For the first time, I see a serious side of my mother that displayed wisdom from her own life experience. My father stops hesitating after seeing this, and simply accepts my choice as well. ¡°Then the decision is over! Now, let¡¯s leave this talk for later at home, now I just want to eat some ice cream with my daughter on her birthday!¡± Reverting back to her normal self, my mother dashes out the [Guild Hall], with my father and I following behind. We spent the rest of the day happily celebrating my birthday, and by the time we finally returned home, I was feeling tired from all the walking we did today. I really enjoyed the time I spent with these two, and I can only hope that these happy times will last the next few years I stay with him. Chapter 4: The First Day ¡°Good~ Morning~ Aria~!¡± A loud, energetic voice wakes me from my morning slumber, and it was quickly joined by a bright light permeating through my eyelids. ¡°Hurry up and wake up! I want to help my little girl choose her clothes for her first day of school, then take a picture of her, then, then¡ª!¡± ¡°Hana, give our daughter some privacy and leave her alone!¡± A massive gust of wind suddenly shoots through my room and pushes my mother outside of my room, before the door closes shut. I quickly thank my father in my head, and look at the alarm at my bedside to check the time. It was only a few minutes earlier than when I¡¯d usually wake up, so I may as well just start preparing for the day. First things first, I head into my bathroom to brush my teeth, using an open gap in between the bandages that allows foreign objects into my mouth. Thank god for this gap, otherwise, I¡¯d probably starve to death since there¡¯d be no way for me to eat. After that, I fill the bathtub with hot water via magic, and proceed to clean myself inside the bath. Although I¡¯m covered in bandages, I can at least maintain any sanitary needs just by letting clean water soak through. Fortunately enough, I also don¡¯t have any urges to use the toilet. I was extremely worried about this at first, but after a couple months of not going to use one, I just decided to let it be. Putting on a random t-shirt and a pair of shorts, I take a glimpse myself at the mirror. My height is definitely above the average eight year old, standing at around 140 centimeters. I¡¯ve probably inherited my mother¡¯s tall stature, so I¡¯ll probably reach her height at around 2 meters. I have no idea how her bloodline managed to reach something like that for the females, but it¡¯s happened somehow. As I finished examining myself in the mirror, my father knocks on the door and opens it. ¡°Hey Aria, are you finished? Breakfast is ready, we¡¯re just waiting for you.¡± He says to me. I nod my head in reply, and follow him out the door to go downstairs with him. ¡°Aria, you¡¯re finally here!¡± My mother says, already waiting at the table for us. ¡°Come, let¡¯s eat now and send you off to school quickly!¡± As father and I take out seats at the table, she¡¯s already started eating her breakfast. After we all finish, the three of us leaves together and head towards the school. There was about an hour before class started, but the distance to the school was only about a ten minute walk from my house. The both of them wanted to send me off for the first day, even taking a day off from their jobs to do so. It kind of touched me, but at the same time, it was pretty irresponsible of them to do something like this. ¡°Now that I think about it, Aria¡¯s gotten pretty big, hasn¡¯t she?¡± Mother says as she compares my father¡¯s height to my own. ¡°Yeah, but she¡¯s still my little girl right now. Isn¡¯t that right, Aria?¡± He says while taking a few steps away from me. There was only about a 20 centimeter difference between us, so the day I outgrow him isn¡¯t that far off. ¡°I bet she¡¯ll be taller than you by the time she becomes a teenager!¡± My mother says with a silly smirk on her face. This earnt her a nice blast of wind, sending her flying back towards the direction of the house. ¡°Reap what you sow¡­¡± I whisper quietly as I continue walking with my dad, who was trying his best to maintain a smile on his face.
[Solace Academy]. One of the most prestigious schools in the country, made specifically to teach young, aspiring adventurers on how to survive in a dungeon. With a variety of classes ranging from direct combat against monsters to learning how to identify the properties of material items inside of a dungeon, this school was pretty much the ideal place for anyone trying to learn how to make a living off of monsters and dungeons. Now normally, a person would have to take an examination to give an overall display of their abilities, to see if they had potential to become an adventurer. Either that, or they came from a very influential family that had a rank no lower than a Marquess. Though I could¡¯ve easily passed the examination without much effort, my parents decided to let me take the easy way in with their connections to the Royal Family of the country. Due to that, I was able to get in without even having to see any of the teachers. Though this also meant I¡¯ve never actually seen the school in person before, and let me tell you now, the massive gate I¡¯m staring at is already enough to awe me. ¡°Isn¡¯t it amazing? This is the school you¡¯ll be attending now!¡± My mother exclaims behind me. She managed to catch up with us as we arrived at the school gates, covering the distance between the house and the school in a couple of minutes. ¡°As an alumni from this academy, I can guarantee that this¡¯ll be a great place for you to study, Aria. I have a friend working here as well, you can talk to him if you have any problems here. Just make sure to avoid trouble whenever you can, since there¡¯s always that one antisocial person that hates everyone, or that one noble that has a superiority complex.¡± My father sternly warns me of other problems that may come up during my time at school, but Mother stopped him before he got too carried away.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Okay now, my little angel, just remember to have fun at school and work hard, okay?¡± She whispers to me as she gives me a hug. ¡°And be sure to make some friends while you¡¯re here! School life is always better when you have a companion to talk to.¡± My father says while rubbing my head. After that, they both see me off as I walk through the gates of the school, before heading on home themselves. Now my school life will start, I wonder what¡¯s going to happen while I¡¯m here?
¡°Welcome, new students, to your first day of school. My name is Malcura Sinsun, and I am the Medical Teacher for the year five and six students. You may all refer to me as Ms. Sinsun, and my role as your homeroom teacher is to help organize events that requires the entire class during this year.¡± An old woman stood at the front of the classroom I¡¯m sitting in, her name written out on the virtual whiteboard behind her. She looked to be a bit past her 50s, and held a stern expression on her face as she introduced herself to the class. Her graying hair is tied up into a small bun, and she is wearing a pair of rectangular glasses that seemed as thick as a window glass. ¡°So, since this is the first day, all of your classes will be lenient and relaxed, to have all of you familiarize yourselves with the school. So for today, I¡¯m going to have you all introduce yourselves. We¡¯ll start with the nice young lady here,¡± She points to the girl sitting directly next to me, who looked surprised at suddenly being put in the spotlight. ¡°Please come and stand here. Tell us your name, age, what your hobbies are, anything you¡¯d like, really. You can use the whiteboard as well if you wish.¡± ¡°Ah, yes¡­¡± The girl scurried up to the front as fast as she could, nearly tripping over her own feet as she left her seat. She kind of reminds me of a small bunny, if the bunny was a human and had short, blond hair. ¡°M-my name is Rianne Sorsche, and I¡¯m twelve years old! I like to, um, sing and dance, and I enjoy reading as well!¡± Stuttering a bit, the small girl manages to finish her introduction, before bowing and returning to her seat. The teacher looks at me next, signalling that it was my turn to go up now. I calmly get up from my seat and head towards the front of the room. Although I didn¡¯t look like it, I¡¯ll tell you now, I was feeling pretty nervous inside of me. I was never very good at talking to other people in my past life, and that nature of mine hasn¡¯t changed at all in this one. So me going up in front of everyone here in this classroom is quite a challenge for me, since I have to try my best to remain calm. Else I¡¯ll be seen as a joke if I make any blunders because I was nervous. It didn¡¯t help that I was also covered in bandages, something that attracted the curiosity of the students around me, but all I can do is just suck it up. When I finally reached the front of the room, I grab a pen off the table and wrote my name on the whiteboard in large letters. After that, I continued writing on the whiteboard, putting down my age and my hobby of reading on the virtual screen before turning around to face the class. As I looked at the 19 students gazing at me, I completely forget about what I was going to say, and just simply stood there at the front in complete silence. ¡°...well? Are you going to say anything, or are you just trying to waste time by standing here? If you¡¯re done with your introduction, then head back to your seat!¡± The teacher says to me in a clearly irritated tone of voice. Feeling embarrased, I return to my seat and covered my head with my arms. The rest of the class went up to introduce themselves as well, and by the time everyone finished, the class had finally ended, and we were to proceed to our second classroom. What a terrible way to start my day.
The classes after that held the same results, I just couldn¡¯t interact with the other students very well. Even when the teacher tried to help, the awkward atmosphere remained, and I was left out for most of the ¡®ice-breaking¡¯ activities. By the time lunch break started, I was pretty much the lone student that everyone ignored, while everyone else have already made friends and exchanged numbers. At the moment, I am currently sitting on the roof of one of the classroom buildings, quietly eating my lunch all alone. As I finished the meal my father prepared for me, I hear a loud explosion coming from the eastern area of the campus. The school campus is split into four different ¡®zones,¡¯ and if I recall properly, that part of the school is supposed to be the [Combat Zone], where students entering courses specializing in fighting goes to. From what I read on the school brochure, there are several arenas built there made for the sake of organizing duels and competitions so that students can obtain ¡®combat experience.¡¯ I stand up from where I was just eating, and look towards the place where the explosion came from. From what I can see, one of the arena buildings had smoke coming out of it. A building based on architecture from a millennium ago, I believe they called it the [Colosseum]. This place is mainly used for holding individual duels and small group battles. There''s usually a small barrier that should be surrounding the building whenever people are using it in order to prevent any noise or stray magic from disturbing the other classes. I can only come to the conclusion that a couple of overly excited students are using it now unofficially. Well, whatever goes on over there doesn¡¯t really concern me at all. Deciding to ignore the scene, I climb down from the roof and head towards the library, spending the rest of the period there. The remaining classes yielded the same results as my morning ones, causing me to return home a bit depressed. It¡¯s only the first day, At least it¡¯s just the first day of school, I¡¯ll probably make some friends by tomorrow! Chapter 5: The Prodigies As it turns out, the next few days of school weren''t so great for me. Before I knew it, a week as already gone by and I''m still the friendless person sitting in the corner of the room. Today was the same as usual, me sitting on the roof of one of the classroom buildings, eating my lunch. Recently, it''s become a hobby for me to sit by the edge and watch daily events unfold between other students. Since my life was so dull and boring, I had to find my entertainment by spectating other students. A student¡¯s first year at this school required them to complete the [General Course], so pretty much all of their classes took place within the [General Zone]. It¡¯s the largest area in the school campus, and it contained all of the general facilities that a school normally has. This includes a cafeteria, the classroom buildings, the library, a theatre for assemblies and performances, et cetera. Since the only open area was the cafeteria, that¡¯s the place that I usually watch for any interesting events to occur. And it looks like I¡¯ll be doing the same thing today, since my usual, friendless self has nothing better to do. I look around to try and find people to watch, I decide to settle on eavesdropping in on a conversation between a strange group of friends. It was a pretty diverse group in terms of species; most of them are probably from different worlds. As far as I can see, there are only two humans at the table, but who knows, they may also be from another world and just look the same as us. Their age difference doesn''t seem to be too far apart either. If I had to guess, they would be around 14 years old, and are most likely my seniors since I haven''t seen any of them in my freshmen classes. ¡°-fault. They all just keep challenging me left and right, as if I was their mortal enemy or something.¡± One of the two humans, a young male with white hair, was already mid sentence as I finally managed to focus my senses onto this particular group. It seems like I''ve found an interesting conversation to listen to. ¡°Well, you are the son of an infamous earl. There are a lot of confident, young nobles who would definitely look down on you. Hell, didn''t I do the same thing when we first met?¡± A young boy covered in fur laughs heartily after replying to the human, his tail waving wildly as he did so. He¡¯s from a species I didn¡¯t really expect to find in this world; a [Werewolf]. They usually never travel away from their packs, and it¡¯s rare to see them outside their homeworld. ¡°You''ve definitely improved over the summer though,¡± A small girl covered in scales joined the conversation, asking the human boy, ¡°What kind of training have you been doing, Ash? You could probably be classified as an [A-Ranked] adventurer to right now!¡± ¡°Well, I managed to get my mom to teach me some new spells over the summer. We spent about a month going to an open area near the [Forest of Fire], where I learnt how to use [Inferno Wave] and [Phoenix Pillar]. After learning the initial chants and runes, I spent the rest of the time practicing them so I can improve my control and casting time for those two spells.¡± The human boy named Ash answers. The girl covered in scales should be one of the reptile races, though I can¡¯t tell which one she¡¯s from. ¡°Wow man, you''re seriously going to reach [Level 5] in the four basic elements. If I could use magic as well as you could, then I would never have to be worried about getting caught.¡± A boy with purple skin and pointed ears speaks out in envy. His unique features could only fit one race that I¡¯ve read about in books, the [Dark Elves]. ¡°What''re you talking about!? You''re already a prodigy yourself, with your own special [Class] and everything! You ain''t fooling no one here, you overpowered ninja!¡± The person speaking here is literally made up of just bones. A talking skeleton with a light blue flame burning in one of its eye sockets; the sight of this surprised me greatly when I first saw him. Since this is the first time I¡¯ve seen anything like him, I believe that he is simply a familiar from another dimension. ¡°For once, I''m agreeing with ¡®Dog Food¡¯ here. You''re already a genius yourself, Haki, why the heck would you need magic as well?¡± A girl with the lower body of a snake agrees with the skeleton. Her race was classified as the [Lamia], another race that''s often not seen outside of their homeworld. In fact, they prefer the opposite, where they attract other races to their world by seducing them. ¡°Hey, it''s not like I''m as talented as these two here. Ash is a genius himself, but if anyone deserves to be called ¡®overpowered,¡¯ don''t you think Raina fits that title the best out of all of us?¡± The [Dark Elf] says. ¡°Yeah, she''s gotten strong to the point where she spars with the senior students and the teachers now.¡± Ash adds. ¡°That''s probably the reason why she doesn''t have any friends her age now, eh? That''s why she''s always hanging out with us!¡± The werewolf boy says while patting the human girl¡¯s head. She quickly smacks away his hand, clearly annoyed by the childish treatment. ¡°Really? I thought she just had a brother complex, since she''s always sticking with Ash!¡± The skeleton says, earning him a backhand to his ribcage. This brought about laughter around the table, and they all continue to interact with each other in a silly manner. As I listened to their entertaining exchanges and conversations, I notice something strange about the human girl. Overall, she was quite cute, with her petite size and frilly dress. She had extremely similar features to the human boy, Ash. These two were most likely siblings, an elder brother with his younger sister. Just like her brother, the girl had white hair, but it was slightly longer than her brother¡¯s hair. The most unique thing about her though, are her eyes. The left eye held a deep, ocean blue while the right eye was a bright, shining silver.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Her beautiful eyes completely captivated me, and I held my gaze on her for longer than intended. Most likely staring for too long, the girl turned towards my direction and made direct eye contact with me. Considering that I was on the other side of the [General Zone], the fact that she was able to both detect me and pinpoint my location is very impressive. So those eyes were [Magic Eyes] after all, since I can''t figure out how else she was able to find me. The both of us just remained where we were sitting, just looking at each other awkwardly. As I was wondering what to do, she raises her hand and starts waving at me. Her expression remained neutral though, so it was hard for me tell what was on her mind. Her actions attracts the attention of the others, causing them all to look towards the building as well. ¡°What''re you looking at, Raina? Something caught your eye at the school?¡± The brother asks. ¡°It''s a bit hard to see, but I think she''s waving at the girl sitting on the roof of the building there.¡± The [Dark Elf] asks as he looks towards me with his eyes squinted. ¡°You can actually see that far, Haki?¡± The werewolf asks him. ¡°Of course! An assassin needs good eyes to find his target, you know?¡± He replies with a confident tone. ¡°Ghost, can you see her? I can barely make out the shape of the person, let alone identify them.¡± The lizard girl says while squinting her eyes. ¡°Yeah, I can see ''em. No details to make out though, just a kid covered in bandages. Probably a chuunibyou or something.¡± The skeleton replies. He used a strange term I didn''t understand, so I make a mental note in my head to look up what this ''chuunibyou¡¯ thing was. ¡°So what''s special about the kid? I doubt he can see us from that far away, so what''re you waving at him for?¡± The [Lamia] asks the human girl. ¡°He can see us. He¡¯s been focused on our group for a while.¡± She responds without hesitation. ¡°You sure about that? Looks like a lonely kid eating lunch to me.¡± The skeleton responds. The comment kind of hurt, since it was true. It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t been trying to make friends or anything, it¡¯s just that no one wants to be my friend! ¡°If anything, the guy looks suspicious to me. I mean, he¡¯s completely covered in bandages, what¡¯s not to be suspicious about? He might be a spy who¡¯s watching Raina and Ash right now.¡± This conversation just took a bad turn for me. The [Dark Elf]¡¯s words kind of made sense, my appearance is definitely something that can be considered extremely suspicious ¡°Now that I think about it, there hasn¡¯t been any assassination attempts recently. Perhaps they¡¯ve finally realized that it¡¯s useless to try such a method to take you out, Ash. Especially with that sister of yours.¡± The reptile girl says. Although I don¡¯t know the reason why anyone would try to assassinate such young children, this is causing a misunderstanding that¡¯s definitely not good for me. ¡°That¡¯s true, maybe they¡¯re resorting to just spying on me now in order to find my weakness? Or maybe they¡¯re monitoring my battles to determine my full combat potential. It would explain the reason why I¡¯ve been challenged so many times this week.¡± As Ash starts making his own inquiries about my appearance, his sister suddenly stands up from the table and steps away from the table. ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter what they¡¯re up to. If they¡¯re out to harm you,¡± A light blue aura starts to surround her as she takes a few steps towards me. ¡°Then I¡¯ll just eliminate them before they can do anything.¡± The wind around her suddenly starts converging into her closed right hand. A long rod of ice begins to appear in her hand, created by the water vapour in the area being condensed in her closed hand. A couple of the other students get up to try and get her to stop, but she ignored them and continued her spell. No one dared to approach her as she does this, not wanting to get in the way of the upcoming attack. After a couple of seconds, the weapon was complete, and the girl raised it over her head. A chill runs down my spine as she starts taking a few steps forward. As soon as she throws the javelin towards me, I slowly close my lunchbox and stood up on the edge of the roof. During the time it took for her to create the weapon, I could already feel the amount of mana used to make it was at a very high level for a child like her. When the javelin left her hand, it left a trail of rippling wind as it travelled towards me at a terrifying speed. Even though I''m on the opposite side of the [General Zone], the projectile had already covered half the distance within a few seconds. The strength from this javelin could easily rival a [Level 6] magic spell, meaning it was capable of blowing away the gates of a castle upon impact. Not only that, but the accuracy of her throw is on-point. If I remain where I stand, I can already visualize the javelin bursting straight through my chest. This girl was trying to kill me at the moment, without batting an eyelid. Although this extreme weapon was just about to hit me, I remain as calm as ever. I¡¯ve been in far more dangerous situations as this, so a threat at this level wasn¡¯t much to me. Just as the javelin reaches my location, I simply take a step back and turn my body to the side, letting the high speed projectile fly right by me. It nearly grazes my chest, and the massive gust of wind following behind the projectile does hit me head on, but I was able to stand my ground. Just as I thought the danger was over though, my instincts flared up again and my body instantly jumps up in reaction. I feel another gust of wind burst past the area where I was just standing, which was probably another javelin thrown by the girl. The first one seems to have been a decoy, while the second one was hidden behind it to hit me while off guard. What surprised me most is that I wasn¡¯t able to detect it earlier. She must¡¯ve thrown it right after the first one, but I didn¡¯t see the action since I was too focused on the first one. I must be getting careless from my new lifestyle, to nearly fall for a simple trick like this. Thankfully, there weren¡¯t any more dangerous ranged attacks after the second one. I was finally able to relax again. Turning back towards the group of prodigies, I reactivate my [Enhanced Senses] skill and focus my vision on them. The first thing I see is the little sister¡¯s eyes looking right at me again, eyes wide opened in surprise. It''s evident that she didn''t expect me to able to react so fast and dodge the second javelin. It seems like her friends were sharing their thoughts about me, but I didn¡¯t have the luxury to listen since this scene clearly attracted attention from other students. I quickly leave the rooftop before anyone came up to investigate. At the same time, the school bell starts to ring, signalling the end of lunch. As I head towards my next class, I make a mental note to myself: Hide myself for the rest of the week. Chapter 6: The Lessons ¡°Again.¡± In response to the annoyed voice, I badly wave the practice sword in my hands at the training dummy in front of me. ¡°Again.¡± The voice repeats itself and again, I mimic my previous action of poorly striking the dummy with the sword. A few other students standing on the side start giggling as I do so, while the owner of the voice lets out a deep sigh. I ignore the other students and continue to hit the dummy with poor movements, irritating the instructor watching over me every time I do so. Right now, I''m attending one of my ¡®favorite¡¯ classes, [Basic Combat]. Here, the students are taught how to defend themselves at a basic level, a useful thing for anyone who wishes to travel around in this monster infested world. In my case, it means that I have nothing to learn here. If they taught more unique techniques that had been developed during my death, I would be more interested, but it''s all just basic footwork and swings. As for the reason why my strikes are all dull and lazily done, it''s not only because I''m unmotivated, but I want to avoid revealing my actual ability in public. Since I''m trying to avoid gathering attention from any sort of political group, it''s best to lay low and pretend to be much weaker than I actually am. So far, it seems to be working well, but the same time, it''s lowering my reputation since I am pretty much pushing the boundaries of acting weak. ¡°Spear, dagger, bow and a sword. The four most basic weapons available, and you can''t even swing them properly. Are you sure you''re cut out to be an adventurer? It''s a miracle that you got past the entrance exam.¡± My instructor complains to me. I believe his name is Lenard, though I¡¯m not too sure. He wasn¡¯t supposed to be my teacher for this class anyway. Anyway, as he said, I''ve already tried the four main weapons used by any combatant, and I purposely used them in the wrong way. Due to this, I''m considered to be the worst student at fighting right now, so maybe I should kind of fix that. Seeing that I have no friends in this school whatsoever, and my skills in combat are weak, I''m sure that I''m currently the ideal target for bullying. Even now, my peers are talking behind my back about my incompetence. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯ve all been given a list of warm ups to complete, but instead, I see all of you watching a mini-mummy learn how to swing a blade.¡± A red haired man suddenly appears behind the students watching me, giving them a scare. ¡°Well, what¡¯re you all standing around for? Get going!¡± They immediately scramble away, causing the man to chuckle to himself in amusement His name is Avern Welkert, a former [S-Ranked] adventurer within the [Mortal Tier]. He is a [Rogue] that is specialized in using small weapons, but he''s famous for his ability to fight against other humans. There are stories of him taking out entire bandit hideouts on his own, killing everyone by targeting their weak points with deadly precision. Though also capable of fighting against normal monsters of the dungeon, he is usually found taking requests to hunt for criminals and bandits, giving him the nickname and title, [Bounty Hunter]. This famous [Rogue] had retired recently from being an adventurer, and is now a teacher at this prestigious school to help train rookies. He''s been given a special teaching position where he''s allowed to handpick which students he wants to train personally. Unfortunately, I was chosen as one of them, since he seems to have taken an interest in me. ¡°So you finally decided to show up now, Avern? These are your students that you¡¯ve chosen to teach yourself, isn¡¯t it a bit extreme to start neglecting them after the week first of school?¡± Lenard says to him in a reprimanding tone. ¡°Hey, I was pretty busy with other stuff outside the school. Besides, I''ve already gave them pointers and advice on what to do last week, the kids should be able to do those on their own. ¡± Avern replies nonchalantly. ¡°Just remember that you signed a contract to be a teacher at this academy. That means your duties as an educator should be your top priority, so you should be focusing on that more than your ¡®hobbies.¡¯¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, I got it. I gotta give the little mummy here her training schedule, so how about you go help the other students with their basic training now?¡± Clearly irritated by his nonchalant attitude, Lenard stomps away angrily without another word. ¡°Geez, what¡¯s that guy¡¯s problem? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m doing anything wrong...¡± Avern mumbles as he watches him go away. ¡°Anyway, now that he¡¯s gone, I guess we can start with your training.¡± He says to me casually, as if nothing happened a few seconds earlier. ¡°As far as I¡¯ve seen, you don¡¯t like look you know how to use any of basic weapon right now. The normal thing to do in this case is to have you practice one of them and get used to it, while having you build your strength and stamina. But in your case, I don¡¯t think you need it.¡± I slightly tilt my head in confusion, not knowing what he meant by that. ¡°Considering that you¡¯re Hana¡¯s daughter, there¡¯s no way she¡¯d send you here if you weren¡¯t at least twice as capable as the normal student here.¡± He says with a grin. I was surprised at hearing my mother¡¯s name come from him, but of course, I don¡¯t show it on my face. Not that I can with these bandages wrapping around it. ¡°So instead of building strength and stamina, or working on how to use a weapon, we¡¯ll start with something nice and simple.¡± Right after saying that, he disappears from my vision. A shadow flickers in the corner of my eyes, and I immediately react to it by raising both arms in that direction. I barely make it in time to block an extremely fast kick aimed at my head. ¡°So you can see my movements, huh? Just like your mother, you¡¯re not even close to being a frail little girl.¡± His eyes clearly reflect joy from learning my abilities. I can tell that he was going easy on me at the moment, due to the strength of his kick. His [Status] was definitely much higher than my current one, there¡¯s no way I¡¯d be able to go against him if he went all out. He disappears again from my sight, but this time I didn¡¯t see which direction he went. Instead, I see the shadow below me unnaturally change, showing that he was currently behind me. I quickly jump sideways and narrowly dodge a straight punch from Avern, who was again, impressed by my reflexes. I think he¡¯s broken in the head or something, who would test aneight year old girl by attacking her!? As I think this, he continues striking at me with several different kicks and punches, and I was barely keeping up with them. At the same time, my body was slowly accumulating damage from blocking his attacks, and my reactions starts to dull, causing me to take a few hits from him. Eventually, my guard breaks completely, leading to him grabbing my arm and throwing me over his shoulder. ¡°...bully.¡± I say while glaring at him from below. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about~! I¡¯m just testing the limits of my precious student so I can determine how much I can push her!¡± He replies with a playful tone in his voice, while giving me a mocking grin as he stares down on me. I seriously hate this guy. ¡°Well, in all seriousness, I didn¡¯t actually expect for you to be this capable in combat. Seriously, what kind of eightyear old kidare you? Although I held back a bit, you were still able to keep up for three minutes. Which is dramatically better than what any of your current colleagues are capable of.¡± Realizing that I just publicly displayed my current [Status] through fighting him, I look around in a hurry. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no one was watching. For insurance, I even casted a spell to prevent them from noticing. As long as they weren¡¯t concentrating on trying to watch us, they wouldn¡¯t be able to see our fight.¡± I let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that. ¡°I have no idea why you¡¯re trying so hard to hide your abilities, but I¡¯m not going to pry about it. In the future, we¡¯ll have your lessons separate from everyone else, if that¡¯ll relieve you.¡± I nod in reply, happily agreeing to his suggestion.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°Good to see that you¡¯re cooperating. Anyway, get up from the ground already. I¡¯m going to be personally mentoring you now.¡± He grabs my arm and forcefully pulls me up, making me stand on my feet. ¡°Earlier on, I said that I wouldn¡¯t be training you in weapons yet. Right now, I¡¯m going to teach you how to fight with your bare hands first.¡± I feel a chill run down my spine, and I jump back to create space away from him. ¡°Don¡¯t try to run, this is only your first lesson, after all¡­¡± His voice suddenly resounds next to me ear, and I slowly turn my head around. ¡°!!!!¡± A silent scream resounds from inside of me, and throughout the lesson, Avern taught me hand-to-hand combat through direct combat experience.
[Basic Combat] class was over, and I was dragging my aching body to my next class, [Basic System Study]. Although I have a general idea of what the [System] was, this class apparently goes deeper into the subject. This includes talking about the changes it went through in the past, different functions of the [System], how it differs from world to world, and more. The books I''ve read only gave a brief description and no specifics, so this will be an interesting class for me. The classroom was full of students by the time I arrive. They were all chatting away about the previous class, comparing each other¡¯s weapon stances and physical qualities. After a few minutes, the teacher finally arrives. Upon her entry, the chatter in the classroom died down as she sets her books down on the front desk. ¡°Welcome back, everyone! How were your weekends?¡± She immediately asks the class. Several students enthusiastically reply to her, talking to her more casually than the other teachers. Her name is Avin Talia-Garde, but the students just address her as Talia. She is from the [Valkyrie] race, originating from the world called [Heaven]. They''re a nomadic race with a long history, and they seem to enjoy traveling between many different worlds. They never seem to age past adulthood either, so there are many people of that race who have lived thousands of years. For this reason, it''s not uncommon to see them being mentioned in the history of other worlds. In fact, I actually recognized this particular [Valkyrie] as soon as I saw her. Her appearance is something I¡¯d never mistake for anyone else. Blond hair as luminous as the sun, eyes as bright as the sky, even her wings looks as if they were as soft as clouds. Although her name is now spelt differently than before, she hasn¡¯t changed very much from the past. Her personality seems to have become a bit more outgoing though, which I think is better than her old one. ¡°So before we start, I just want to make sure that you all know some general knowledge about the [Guild], because they will play an important role in your future careers as [Adventurers]. Any volunteers to answer first?¡± Several hands quickly raise up, and Talia quickly picks one at random. ¡°Saena, can you explain the [Guild]¡¯s ranking system?¡± She asks. ¡°Yeah, sure! So, um, everyone knows that the [Guild] is the go-to place for [Adventurers] to make a living, but, when they go there for the first time and apply, they¡¯ll have to take a test or something to determine their abilities. Their results with give them a [Lettered Rank], which is a way to like, show how strong you are. From the worst to the best, an [Adventurer] can be ranked from [D-Rank] to [S-Rank].¡± The girl¡¯s way of speaking annoyed me slightly, but she manages to give a somewhat vague answer. If this was a test though, an answer like that would definitely be considered ¡®wrong.¡¯ ¡°Nice try, but you¡¯re missing a lot of things there. Does anyone want to explain further?¡± Again, hands are raised and Talia picks another one, a boy this time. ¡°Like what Sena just said, the [Guild] ranks the [Adventurers] that apply, but they also rank the commissions they receive and the [Dungeons] that have been discovered. The commissions are given ranks so that [Adventurers] have an idea on the difficulty of the task. These ranks help serve as a ¡®Minimum Requirement¡¯ for [Adventurers], in order to prevent reckless people from taking them. [Dungeons] are also given a ranking, and like the commissions, the ranks given are used as a guideline to how strong an [Adventurer] must be before being able to tackle them.¡± He explains the rankings in more detail, filling in what the other girl left out. ¡°Very good, Corde. You missed one point though, the [Tier] levels of the [Guild] rankings.¡± Talia says, and turns to the electronic whiteboard behind her. On the board, she writes a hierarchy of the [Ranks] and [Tiers]. ¡°As you know, the rankings from the guild range from [D-Rank] to [S-Rank]. But these ranks are put into different [Tiers] as well, due to the large difference in strength with [Dungeons] and [Adventurers] from different [Worlds]. They look something like this:¡±
Tiers | Rankings
Titan Tier D Rank C Rank BRank A Rank S Rank
God Tier D Rank C Rank BRank A Rank S Rank
LegendTier D Rank C Rank BRank A Rank S Rank
ImmortalTier D Rank C Rank BRank A Rank S Rank
MortalTier D Rank C Rank BRank A Rank S Rank
¡°Every [Tier] uses the same ranking, but a person ranked from a higher [Tier] will be considered as someone stronger than a person from the lower [Tier]. For example, a [D-Rank Adventurer] from the [Immortal Tier] is more powerful than an [S-Rank Adventurer] from the [Mortal Tier].¡± Talia explains. ¡°Teach, how strong do you have to be to reach the [Titan Tier]?¡± A student suddenly asks. ¡°Raise your hand next time if you want to ask a question, Grove. To answer your question, it is a [Tier] made for hypothetical purposes.¡± The class was confused at this response, so Talia begins to explain further. ¡°The [Titan-Tier] was made with the thought of [World Heroes] in mind, and where they would¡¯ve been ranked if they were alive today. To explain in an easier way, think of the old [Hero] and [Demon Lord] of Sykerion. I assume you all know the story?¡± I freeze in place as soon as I hear this. ¡°You mean the one about the mythical hero, Thoth?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. At the time, he was able to reach the maximum level at a very young age. On top of that, he hit the limit for his base stats and skills. Imagine if he wasn¡¯t restricted by the previous [System], and was alive in this day and age. With his talent, his strength and abilities would be far beyond the normal [Adventurer], no?¡± Some of the students nod at the thought of this, agreeing with the teacher. ¡°The same goes for the [Demon Lord], if he was alive now, he would also be as powerful. The [Titan Tier] exists as an estimate of power if warriors like those weren¡¯t restricted by the limitations of the [System] in the past.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s practically impossible to reach that tier unless you¡¯re a dead legend?¡± A student asks as a joke. ¡°Of course not! Although no one has actually reached that tier yet, it¡¯s still in the realm of possibility. The amount of power to be considered a [Titan-Tier Adventurer] is beyond imagination, but I¡¯m sure that with the current [System] and the amount of worlds there are, surely someone with that kind of strength must appear soon.¡± I can feel an invisible arrow just blinking over my head, as if screaming; ¡®Right here! There¡¯s a guy right here!¡¯ ¡°Anyway, back to the lesson, [Adventurers] aren¡¯t the only thing judged by [Ranks] and [Tiers]. Both [Dungeons] and [Worlds] also have their own rankings as well. For a [Dungeon], their rank is given based on the [Monsters] that spawn in them, and the environment that makes it up. Whenever a new [Dungeon] is discovered, the [Guild] will release a [Quest] to have professional [Adventurers] explore it and return with information about it, allowing them to determine the [Rank] of the [Dungeon]. Also, in the future when you all become [Adventurers], please remember to never explore a [Dungeon] on your own, even if you match or exceed its [Rank].¡± Emphasizing the ¡®never,¡¯ Talia urges the students to prioritize their safety first and foremost. ¡°Usually, when a [Dungeon¡¯s Rank] is given, that doesn¡¯t mean it requires a single [Adventurer] of that [Rank] to explore it. The [Dungeon Rank] is used as a reference for what the average [Rank] of a party of six [Adventurers] should be. This means that if a [Dungeon] is ranked as [B-Rank], then the recommended average [Rank] of a party between six people should be the same.¡± ¡°So that means a party can either have six [B-Ranks], or three [A-Ranks] and three [C-Ranks]?¡± A student asks. ¡°Correct. A party like that will have a decent chance to survive the [Dungeon], as long as they don¡¯t do anything careless and progress slowly.¡± I have to commend the people who thought of this system, since it was really impressive. I would have never imagined humans creating an organization like this in the past, even though there weren¡¯t any [Dungeons] back then. But this system would have been somewhat useful in determining the strength of your allies and enemies, which will allow for more precise planning when it came to war. ¡°I will now be passing out a sheet of the local [Dungeons] near our area. We¡¯ll spend the time reviewing them to try and have you guys get used to learning the aspects of a [Dungeon].¡± The rest of the class was spent on this activity, and I manage to learn the name and geography of the five closest [Dungeons] to this city. I can see myself going to one of these in the near future, so it¡¯d be useful to learn about them now. Chapter 7: The New Friend The weekend has arrived, and I find myself enjoying the feeling of laying under my blankets on a cold Saturday morning. This past week turned out to be pretty exhausting, only because of my [Basic Combat] classes with Avern. He''s pretty much the only reason why I get tired at all from school. Now that I can finally rest from his exercises, I''m going to spend the day in my room like this. ¡°Aria~! Rise and shine!¡± At least, that was my plan until my mother bursted in. ¡°Time to wake up and clean yourself up! We have some guests coming today, and one of them might become your friend!¡± She pulls the bedsheets off of me with an excited expression, letting the cold air rush onto my body. With the warmth of my blanket quickly fading away, I reluctantly rise up from my bed and rub my eyes. ¡°...good morning?¡± I drowsily greet my mother as I rub my eyes. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s morning Aria, so hurry up and get yourself ready! Come down after you¡¯re finished, I¡¯ll be waiting for you!¡± Right after she says that, she dashes out of my room, leaving as fast as she arrived. Sighing to myself, I climb out of my bed and proceed to wash myself up in the bathroom. After the usual morning routine of brushing my teeth and soaking my body in a bathtub, I put on a t-shirt and a pair of pants before heading downstairs. On the way down, a sweet aroma coming from the direction of the kitchen filled the air, making it my first destination. Inside, I see my father baking some snacks, most likely for Mother¡¯s guests. ¡°Good morning, Aria. Did you sleep well?¡± He asks me. I simply give a nod in response as I make a bowl of cereal to eat for breakfast. ¡°Sorry that I didn¡¯t make anything for breakfast, your mother was extremely excited for this event and demanded that I make snacks for them before they arrived. Sheesh, only if she told me yesterday, then I would¡¯ve prepared them after lunch¡­¡± He mumbles the last line to himself, but I could still hear him clearly. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I can refuse her selfish demands anyway. So just bear with me for this morning, okay?¡± I nod in reply again, since I could understand how difficult it was to live with my mother. Not that it¡¯s a bad thing, but sometimes she just gets overexcited for small events such as these. It doesn¡¯t help that her preparations for this day is pretty much last minute. The sound of the doorbell resound through the house, and I can hear my mother in the living room run to the door. Now that I think about it, I¡¯ve never seen a guest come over to our house ever since I was reincarnated. So for this family, this is literally the first time in six years that they¡¯ve had someone come over. That¡¯s probably why my mother was extremely excited about this. ¡°Aria, can you bring these cookies to the living room? I¡¯ll join everyone after I finish this cake.¡± Having just finished my cereal, I nod to his request and take the two plates of cookies to the living room. I hear voices from the hallway as I enter the living room, and my mother appears with two other adults. They were the same people my mother was speaking to in the [Guild Hall]. If I recall correctly, these two were former soldiers under my mother¡¯s command during her time serving the kingdom. I wasn¡¯t really interested in them, though. The person I was looking for still didn¡¯t appear yet. ¡°Oh, I nearly forgot! Aria, come over here!¡± Pulling me over, my mother brings me to the couple and starts to introduce me to them. ¡°Lisa, Trax, I haven¡¯t introduced you to my daughter yet! Here, this is my sweet little angel, Aria! Although she¡¯s currently wrapped in bandages due to a curse, but they¡¯ll come off eventually! Then, I¡¯ll finally be able to see my little darling¡¯s face!¡± As my mother goes off into her own dream world, her friends come over and start to examine me. I was with my father during their reunion at the [Guild Hall], so I guess they didn¡¯t know that I even existed until today. ¡°So you¡¯re Hana¡¯s daughter, huh? Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Trax, a former soldier of the kingdom. I worked with your mom before, and she¡¯s saved my ass more times than I could count! Because of that, if you¡¯re ever in trouble, feel free to come to me for help!¡± He flashes a smile at me after introducing himself. He had an average build of a typical knight, but his appearance didn¡¯t stand out much. Both his eyes and his hair were brown, and he was a bit shorter than my mother. In my opinion, his most redeeming point is probably his personality. ¡°Lisa, introduce yourself!¡± Trax says to his wife, who was engrossed in examining the bandages. ¡°Ah, yes, I¡¯m sorry! My name is Lisa Farlite, and I was a cleric working under your mother in the past. I¡¯ve been under her care for a very long time, and I still have many things I¡¯d like to repay her for.¡± She says while bowing. Who bows to an eight year old child? This woman is way too polite. Though, it did fit her image somewhat. With her blond, fluffy hair and her hazel eyes, she gave off a gentle aura. ¡°...hello. I¡¯m Aria.¡± I say in a barely audible voice. Silence filled the room for a few seconds before they took the initiative to speak again. ¡°...so, not much of a talker, I see. That¡¯s cool, we can do all the talking instead! So what¡¯s up with the bandages?¡± Thankfully, Trax was an extremely sociable person. He cleared up the awkward atmosphere in a second, bringing up a topic to talk about. ¡°I think I recognize those bandages on her. If I remember correctly, this is the [Corrupted Cloth] that we found during our time in [Nelrime].¡± Lisa says. ¡°Oh~ is it now? I don¡¯t really remember any of the cursed artifacts we found during our expedition days. They all just went to Kieran for study.¡± ¡°I remember asking Kieran about them a few days after finding them, and he told me of its symptoms. They¡¯re supposed to greatly reduce the [Status] of a person to a ridiculously low level, but stat growth is increased until they¡¯re removed. I think that one of the methods of removal was to simply wait for the curse to die out, since it had a time limit. I don¡¯t remember what the time limit was, though.¡± ¡°Three years is the time limit, meaning that it¡¯ll be removed by next year.¡± My father enters the living room with a finished cake, finishing Lisa¡¯s explanation. ¡°Kieran! You finally finished the cake!¡± With the scent of cake filling the room, my mother escapes from her dream world and focuses her attention on the source. ¡°Yes, do you mind getting a knife to cut the cake?¡± ¡°Eh~ why didn¡¯t you just bring it over with the cake?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t exactly grab a knife if I¡¯m holding the cake with two hands now, can I?¡± Upon hearing that, mother reluctantly gets up from the couch and goes to the kitchen to grab a knife. While waiting for her, I decide to grab one of the cookies off the plate and nibble on it. ¡°Hello Trax, Lisa. It¡¯s been awhile since we¡¯ve spoken to each other. Feel free to treat this home as your own.¡± Father greets the couple while placing the cake on the table and takes mother¡¯s seat next to me. ¡°As humble as always. You haven¡¯t changed much since the squad¡¯s been disbanded, huh?¡± Trax says as he takes a seat on one of the couches with Lisa. ¡°Is that so? I myself thought that I changed quite a bit since the past, mainly because of Hana and Aria.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t deny that, I guess. You seem a lot more laid back now than you did back then. Don¡¯t you think so, Lisa?¡± ¡°Ah, yes. Kieran was a super strict person who always did everything efficiently. I would never have never imagined him marrying Hana, let alone serve us cake and cookies with a smile on his face like today.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that!?¡± The couple laughs at his reaction, while father simply lets out a sigh. I was actually pretty curious on how he was like back then, I wonder if I could get the couple to tell me stories of their expeditions together. My parents do tell me stories, but they like to over exaggerate some of the scenes to try and impress me. I swear, they try too hard to impress a kid. ¡°Mo~m! I smell cookies!¡± A loud voice suddenly resounds in the hallway as a young child appears through the doorway. It was the boy I saw at the [Guild Hall], who had the exact same appearance as I did during my time as a male. ¡°Thoth! Where have you been?¡± His mother asks him. ¡°Exploring! This house is a lot bigger than ours, I wanted to check out the other rooms!¡± The boy responds as he skips over. ¡°So this adventurous little child is yours, Trax?¡± ¡°Yeah, this little brat right here is Thoth!¡± He replies as he grabs the boy and places him on his lap. Upon hearing his name, I nearly drop the cookie I was nibbling on. Not only was his appearance the same, but his name was as well!? ¡°He really resembles the [Old Hero], huh? You even gave him the same name.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Though there¡¯s one difference,¡± He says with an awkward expression. ¡°She¡¯s not my son, she¡¯s my daughter.¡± This time the cogs in my brain just completely froze. I regain myself after a few seconds, but Trax¡¯s words were swirling around in my head. Wanting to reorganize my thoughts, I stand up and try to excuse myself from the room.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Oh, Aria, you¡¯re going to leave already?¡± My mother returns as I do so, bringing back a knife and several utensils. ¡°How about bringing Thoth to your room? You two can play together in there! You wouldn¡¯t mind it, Hana, would you?¡± ¡°Not at all! That sounds like a wonderful idea! Thoth, would you go play with Aria?¡± ¡°Yeah, sure!¡± Replying to his mother enthusiastically, he¡ªI mean, she¡ª hops off her father¡¯s lap and runs towards me. ¡°Come on! Let¡¯s go!¡± Suddenly grabbing my hand, she pulls me out of the room with her. As we stand outside, she turns to me and asks, ¡°So, where¡¯s your room?¡± Letting out an inward sigh, I reluctantly bring my look-a-like up the second floor and lead her to my room. Although she was excited to see it, that excitement faded away as soon as she entered the room. She was probably expecting something extremely frilly or girly, but I didn¡¯t really care about any of that. The only things I had in my room were things I needed, such as a desk, wardrobe and a bed. ¡°Well, I guess I expected too much from someone who dresses like a mummy two months before Halloween.¡± She voices her thoughts out loud before jumping onto my bed. Well I¡¯m sorry that I don¡¯t have any fashion sense. ¡°So, your name¡¯s Aria, right? I¡¯m Thoth, nice to meet¡¯cha!¡± Sitting up on the edge of my bed, she introduces herself to me while giving a bright smile. ¡°...nice to meet you.¡± I whisper back. ¡°...so you¡¯re the quiet type, huh? Well, not that I care. What''s with the bandages though?¡± Curiosity fills her eyes as awaits a response from me. Seeing this, I decide to reply with a joke instead. ¡°Fashion?¡± ¡°The hell do you mean fashion!? Why are you saying it like a question!?¡± ¡°War scars?¡± ¡°The reason¡¯s changed now!? And what war scars, you¡¯re the same age as me!¡± ¡°Puberty?¡± ¡°The hell is that supposed to mean!? You¡¯re just playing with me at this point!¡± I feel a smile forming on my face as I continue to give her half-assed excuses like these. Her reactions were far too amusing to watch. ¡°Well, since you¡¯re clearly not going to tell me why you have those bandages on, let¡¯s talk about something else then.¡± She eventually gives up after a couple more exchanges like that, but she brings up other topics to talk about. For the most part, I respond with either small actions or minimal words, so it¡¯s mostly just her one sidedly babbling to me. ¡°Now that I think about it, you were at the [Guild Hall] before, right? I saw you there with your parents!¡± An ominous feeling fills me as she continues speaking. ¡°Let¡¯s compare our [Status] together!¡± ¡°No thanks.¡± I respond right away. If she leaked my [Status] to her friends or relatives, it¡¯s very possible that it will spread to people who will want me to for my ¡®talent.¡¯ ¡°Instant response!? Why not~!? Come on, show me! How about if I show you first?¡± Before giving me the chance to respond, Thoth pulls out a bronze card from the back pocket of her pants and forces it onto me. Losing to curiosity, I end up looking at it.
NameThoth Farlite
Age8 Years Old
GenderFemale
Level14
Health1,330
Mana855
Strength44
Agility58
Arcanery37
Her [Status] was actually a lot more impressive than expected. Despite being so young, she was already level 14 and her stats were equivalent to a typical [D-Ranked Adventurer]. Her father was most likely personally training her, bringing her out to hunt local monsters in the [Field Dungeon] nearby. Looking at her [Status], I confirm in my head that there''s no way I can show her my own. I look towards my desk where I usually leave my [Status Card], but I didn''t see the familiar bronze card laying on it. ¡°What the hell is this!? Level 3 and your stats are higher than mine!? No, wait, what''s with the amount of health and mana you have!?¡± It''s already in her hands!? Did she take it while I was distracted with her [Status]!? Wait, more importantly, she just found out about my own [Status]! ¡°Oh ho ho, so this is why you were trying to hide it¡­¡± A dark aura begins to emerge from the girl, causing the previously light-hearted atmosphere to become ominous. The source of it slowly turns towards me, a sadistic smile on her face. ¡°You know, I''ve noticed that you''ve been watching me ever since you saw me. You seemed to be shocked whenever I appeared. Even today, you reacted weirdly every time you learnt about me.¡± As Thoth spoke, she got off the bed and slowly began walking towards me. ¡°It was as if you were looking at someone who was supposed to be dead. And when you learnt about my gender, you froze on the spot. Like you completely believed that I was male, even though it was your first time meeting me.¡± Feeling pressured by her, I slowly back away from her as she moves closer to me. ¡°On top of that, your [Status] is extremely suspicious. Normally there''d be no way for someone who''s level 3 have stats higher than another person ten levels higher, you know?¡± Suddenly, Thoth dashes forward and pushes my body against the wall. Bringing her face close to my ear, she whispers, ¡°Fate seems to have played with you too, huh, [Hero]?¡±
¡°Hahahaha! Seriously though, your reaction when I pushed you against the wall! Completely priceless!¡± Rolling around on the floor with tears in her eyes, Thoth was currently laughing hysterically about the event that just occurred a few minutes ago. Apparently, the girl in front of me was the [Demon Lord] in my previous life. Just like me, she suddenly found herself reborn into this world eight years ago. When she first saw me, she immediately found me suspicious, and was able to deduce that I was familiar with her appearance. Having a vague idea as to who I was, she came along with her parents today to confirm my identity. ¡°...you scared me¡­¡± I mumble while hugging a pillow on my bed. ¡°How so? Did you think I was going to eat you or something? Since when did you become such a coward, Thoth? Or should I call you Aria instead?¡± Hearing her words made my heart ache a bit. I couldn''t deny her words, since I can also see that I''ve become softer since I''ve been reincarnated. Perhaps it''s due to the influence of my two loving parent, or overconfidence in my overwhelming [Status], but I''ve definitely changed from the past. ¡°Sorry, sorry! Didn¡¯t mean it like that. In my opinion, this ¡®new you¡¯ that shows emotion is a lot better than the ¡®old you¡¯ that didn¡¯t flinch at the face of death.¡± As if reading my mind, Thoth tries to comfort me with her words. ¡°It''s not like I didn''t like the way you were back then, but it''s more like, I can get along with you much more easily now, don''t you think?¡± ¡°...yeah.¡± It was like this back then too, wasn''t it? When I first arrived at his castle, he invited me to join him in celebrating his wife''s birthday party before we fought. Even though we were supposed to be arch-enemies, I accepted his offer and had a chance to speak with him before our final battle. During our interaction with each other, he learnt how to understand and communicate with me within five minutes, and was the only person to ever do so. Even now, with my entire body covered from head to toe, he was still able to read be clearly. ¡°...not mad, about dying?¡± I ask the girl in front of me. ¡°Huh? Why would I be mad? It was a deathmatch between you and me, where we both gave it our all. You were the victor, I was the loser. Simple as that.¡± Her casual reply catches me off guard, but at the same time, it relieved me to hear that she wasn¡¯t holding a grudge against me for it. ¡°You know, it really sucked that we were enemies back then.¡± She suddenly says, and a sad expression appears on her face as she continues to voice her thoughts. ¡°I thought you were a pretty cool guy when I first met you. After talking to you for a bit, I found myself wondering, ¡®If we weren¡¯t mortal enemies, how would we have ended up?¡¯ Well, I guess since we¡¯re both already dead in history so it doesn¡¯t matter now, does it?¡± ¡°...it does matter¡­¡± I whisper quietly, but Thoth still managed to catch my words. ¡°Hm? What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°Not Hero,¡± I point at myself first, then point at her before saying, ¡°Not Demon.¡± Eyes wide opened, the former [Demon Lord] in front of me was definitely surprised at my words. I didn¡¯t blame her, since I¡¯ve never been this ¡®talkative¡¯ in the past as well. Her expression quickly shifts from surprise to happiness, as an innocent smile reappears on her face. Man, I find it hard to believe that this innocent-looking girl in front of me used to be that ruthless, evil [Demon Lord], who could blow away an army with a single spell. ¡°Jeez, now I¡¯m getting soft too. Are you trying to infect me with something? Because I¡¯ll tell you now, it¡¯s definitely working.¡± She says jokingly, before proceeding to sit with me on the bed. ¡°You¡¯re not wrong, though. This time, instead of a [Hero] and [Demon Lord], we¡¯re just two human girls that are best friends now, yeah?¡± Although it still felt a bit weird being referred to as a ¡®girl,¡¯ I still nod in agreement to her words. ¡°Well then, let''s redo our introductions!¡± She says and suddenly grasps both of my hands into her own. ¡°Hello there, my name¡¯s Thoth Farlite! Although I''m eight years old in this body, I''m actually a [Demon Lord] that''s over 200 years old!¡± After making her introduction, she stares right into my eyes, urging me to do the same. ¡°Hello,¡± A warm feeling wells up within me, and my next words come from those feelings. ¡°My name is Aria Brynhildr. Nice to meet you!¡±
Extra scenes: Spoiler:Only 1%!? Thoth: ¡°Wait, so you''re telling me you''re actually heavily cursed at the moment, and your current stats are less than one percent of your original?¡± Aria: *Nod* *Nod* Thoth: ¡°So while I have to train to regain my stats you''ve kept yours?¡± Aria: ¡°...¡± Thoth: ¡°...you bas¡ª!¡± Spoiler:Talkative Thoth: ¡°Since when did you start talking so much?¡± Aria: ¡°Hm?¡± Thoth: ¡°I mean, back then, you were so quiet it was uncanny. I thought I was talking to a doll or something, you know?¡± Aria: ¡°...this life, better parents¡­¡± Thoth: ¡°Really? What about your previous parents?¡± Aria: ¡°Nobles, didn¡¯t understand me.¡± Thoth: ¡°What!? How would they not be able to understand their own child!? Were they mentally retarded or something!?¡± Aria: ¡°...only you understood me¡­¡± Thoth: ¡°Seriously!? Humans are actually stupider than I thought! Jeez, just because you¡¯re a little bit of a taciturn, theydon¡¯t bother trying to understand you?¡± Aria: ¡°...thanks for caring.¡± Thoth: ¡°Of course! You¡¯re my best friend now, you know!? From now on, if anyone bullies you anything, send ¡®em right to me! I¡¯ll pound their asses right into the ground!¡± Aria: ¡°...¡± *Hug* Thoth: ¡°W-w-w-what¡¯re you doing!?¡± Aria: ¡°You¡¯re a great friend¡­¡± Thoth: ¡°O-o-of course I am! A great friend? Yes I am! Hahahaha!¡± Spoiler: Adaption Aria: ¡°...you adapt fast¡­¡± Thoth: ¡°Hm? Adapt to what?¡± Aria: ¡°Girl¡­¡± Thoth: ¡°Ah, that? Well, I thought that since I¡¯m reliving a new life, I should have a fresh start and a new mentality! Therefore, I¡¯ve been trying my best to achieve the ideal, ¡®female¡¯ mindset at the moment! My goal is to be as elegant as those noble ladies at the top of human society!¡± Aria: ¡°...you mean tomboy?¡± Thoth: ¡°...are you implying something here?¡± Aria: ¡°Nope. You, very elegant!¡± *Nervous Nod* x 2 Side Story 1: The Final Battle Side Story 1: The Final Battle Today, is one of the greatest turning points in history. In front of me, stood a man with pitch black, light armor and his only weapons were the dark, metallic gloves on his hands. He was the [Hero], the savior of the human race who came to slay me. On the other side, there was me, Eryiameph the great [Demon Lord]. We were currently standing in the throne room of my castle, about to initiate in the final 1 on 1 duel between [Humans] and [Demons]. Whether I stand or fall here, will determine the fate of the [Demon Race]. ¡°Oh great [Hero], are you prepared to meet your doom?¡± I say a line decided by my advisors. I have no idea why they would want me to say such a thing, but I did it anyway. ¡°¡­yes.¡± On the other hand, instead of a heroic, memorable response that would be quoted in the future, the man is front of me is pretty much a taciturn. I chuckle to myself, just hearing him speak. This guy was extremely amusing to interact with. Just yesterday, when I proposed delaying our fight to attend my wife¡¯s birthday party, he agreed. Really, what kind of [Hero] would agree to attend the birthday party of his supposed arch-enemy? I immediately took a liking to him after that. It¡¯s a shame that one of us has to die. There is no possible way to accommodate both the demon race and the human race together in the same world. I raise my spear and take a low stance, ready to lunge at will. The [Hero] raises his fists, keeping a high guard up. Immediately after taking his stance, I thrust forward towards his lower body, which I assumed was an opening. I couldn¡¯t have been more wrong. Before my spear made contact, he raises his right leg and kicks the area right behind the spear head, causing the trajectory to shift slightly. He curves his body, and the spear slides right past him, a paper-thin margin from cutting him. The foot he used to kick defied physics and instantly stomped back into the ground, as if he never threw the kick and only stepped forward. While my momentum from the thrust drives me forward, he throws a left hook aimed at my upper body, and I see hints of magic contained within the attack. Immediately, I used one of my demon skills, [Inferno Projection], a skill that propels me any direction I need to move to, while leaving behind a figure of fire that explodes. I propel myself backwards, and the punch makes impact with the flames, but instead of exploding into flames, a blast of wind emerges from the attack, forcing me to fly farther back than intended, right into my throne. I stand from the rubble, about to raise my guard again, but before I know it, the [Hero]¡¯s already in front of me, ready to throw a second punch. This time, with his right fist. I raise my spear in front of me and use the handle to block the punch. Upon impact, the spear vibrates extremely heavily, and yet again, I¡¯m blasted back. It didn¡¯t do much damage though, but it was something beyond what a human should do. I decide not to think about it for now, and re-engage in battle. I get up faster this time, and thrust my spear forward, predicting that the hero would immediately come towards me again. I was right, and he was forced to dodge the attack, stopping his sprint and leaping sideways. Now it was my turn to put pressure onto him, and I began swinging towards him from every direction, the speed increasing after every swing. Despite my speed reaching to a point where even I can barely see it, he¡¯s still dodging with minimal movements, and even attempts to throw a few cross counters, which I dodge. When I finally find an opening, I immediately thrust my spear towards his lower right thigh, and it hits. I definitely felt impact, and the leg was blown away by the sheer power of the thrust, but there was no blood coming from the wound. A shadow flickers in the corner of my vision, and I raise my left hand by reflex, and a kick makes impact with it. It had a lot of strength in it, and there was even magic to strengthen the kick even further, but that wouldn¡¯t be enough to harm me. At least, that¡¯s how it should¡¯ve been. The gauntlets of my left hand begin vibrating powerfully, and it spread all the way to my shoulder. The vibrations felt like the kick he just made being multiplied by over a hundred within my armor. Enduring the pain, I immediately used my wings and flew away to widen the distance between us. Also, he couldn¡¯t reach my with his physical attacks from the ground. After I put a considerable amount of distance between us, I wait for this unknown effect to subside. When it finally stops, I can hardly move my left arm anymore, and the left shoulder guard was beginning to crack. What is this dangerous armor-piercing attack? No, it¡¯s even worst than that. The vibrations continued because my armor was able to endure it, but my body isn¡¯t able to absorb the same amount of damage my armor can. Therefore, it was an attack that forced the enemy¡¯s high defense to backfire on them, destroying them from the inside. Why is he so powerful? A human¡¯s level limit is 100, I believe, and I am level 500, which was a demon¡¯s limit. If I hit him even once, that¡¯s a guaranteed death for him. His attacks shouldn¡¯t even chip away 1% of my health, yet that one hit took out a solid 15%. That¡¯s over 50,000 points of damage done to me in a single hit. Is it his trump card? As I think that, I look back over to where the [Hero] was, and I saw two of him. One with it¡¯s leg blown off, and another standing next to him. I use my [Eyes of Magic Perception], and the world turns into an array of colors, similar to what one would see as thermal vision, except much more clearer. The figure with the leg blown off is completely blue, indicating that it was a being created with magic. It couldn¡¯t be called a simple illusion, because it had physical substance. I know I felt my spear piercing flesh and bone, so it was probably a spell at the highest tier of magic, towards the pinnacle of [Spatial Magic]. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. A valkyrie told me about this the other day, about a legendary spell that only exists in legends. The perfected illusionary spell, [Phantasm]. There was no other explanation for that figure next to the [Hero]. As I keep my distance from the [Hero], and examined him, I see mana gathering in front of him. I turn off my [Eyes of Magic Perception], and watch what exactly he was doing. I guess I¡¯m learning a new fact about the [Hero] now, and it¡¯s that not only is he powerful in close combat, but he can use the largest arsenal of magic spells I¡¯ve ever seen. First, a blast of extremely cold wind was released by him, and covered the entire throne room in ice within a few seconds. Next, a huge burst of light filled the room, and a heavy bolt of magic power strikes me right in the chest. To be precise, it was a large bolt of lightning, which was powerful enough to completely destroy my chestplate. Fortunately it didn¡¯t pierce through, something like that would¡¯ve mortally wounded me if it hit my actual body. Right after, a heavy force pulls me down towards the ground, and slams me deep into it. The ceiling of the throne room began to collapse, and most of the debris was coming towards my direction. This is a bad situation for me, so I guess I have to use ¡®that.¡¯ I gather mana within my body, and just before the debris hit, I recited a single word. ¡°Mode, Devil.¡± Instantly, flames erupt from my body as red, runic markings began to carve themselves into my body. My skin blackens and hardens, and small line cracks run through them that makes them seem scale-like. The wings I had also received markings, the edges became extremely sharp. Two horns protrude from my head, and the transformation was complete. [Mode: Devil] is a skill I obtained upon becoming a [Demon Lord], and it made me undergo a transformation that heavily increased my physical and magical defense, along with enchanting my strength and speed. I wasn¡¯t able to stay in this form for long though, at max I can last two minutes. Therefore, I must defeat him within that limited frame of time. All the debris that was about to hit me completely melted from the flame wave I released upon transformation, and most of the room was now destroyed. The afternoon sun was exposed to both the [Hero] and I, facing each other and waiting for the other to make a move. I couldn¡¯t afford to wait like this though, and the [Hero] knew, so he began to gather mana in preparations for stopping my next attack. This will most likely be the exchange we¡¯ll make. I flap my wings once, and that was enough to propel me forward at the speed of sound, allowing me to reach my opponent in less than a second. With my spear in my right hand, I thrust it at his neck, and it pierces, but there was no blood. Another [Phantasm]. I immediately turn around to see if I was able to strike again before he landed his attack, but instead, I find myself surrounded by several more [Phantasms], all who began sprinting circles around me at high speeds, prepared to strike at any opening I give. This will probably be my last stand, so I¡¯m going to make it where it¡¯s either I kill the [Hero], or drag him to death with me. One of the [Phantasms] circle behind me, and makes the first strike. The final stand starts here. I thrust the blunt end of the spear behind me, hitting the illusion straight to the neck, killing it instantly. Two more try to take advantage of me temporarily focusing my attention on the surprise attack, but I quickly spin the spear around me and slash at the two illusions. One more came head on, and dodged my first thrust, ducking under and trying to hit my abdomen. Instead of pulling back the spear to try for another attack, I straight up kick the [Phantasm] and send it flying with it¡¯s head bent a complete 180?. There were only two remaining, and they both come at my from both sides. One of them was the real one, and there was only two, so I should be able to eliminate both of them before they hit me. I raise the spear and thrust it at the [Hero] coming from the left, and released a spear made of dark magic, which instantly killed it. There was no blood, so that means the one to my right was the real [Hero]. I turn around and began to swing to the area I thought the hero was going to be, but he wasn¡¯t there at all. He completely disappeared from the right side. Suddenly, I feel an extremely heavy impact from behind, much heavier than the kick from before. Even though my magic and physical resistance increased, the strength of this attack was at least 10 times stronger than the previous, and the vibrations were so powerful that I can feel my bones breaking, organs bursting, and muscles tearing from it. This is the end for me. But I¡¯m not going down alone. Gritting my teeth and bearing the pain, I turn around and thrust the spear with my remaining strength, which hit the [Hero] who had a surprised look on his face. I smirked at him as I fell to the ground, the vibrations getting worse. Before my lungs were crushed though, I was able to say some final words to the [Hero]. ¡°Got you, you teleporting bastard.¡± My lungs burst immediately after this, and I can no longer speak. Soon enough, my heart will be crushed by these heavy vibrations, but I was able to hear the [Hero] reply before I died. ¡°Good job.¡± What a thing for him to say, even though he was about to die as well. Though I can kind of understand how he''d be feeling after this. I bet he''s even smiling right now, glad that everything''s over even though he''s about to die. If I could, I would be chuckling to myself right now, but unfortunately, my time was up. Soon enough, I feel a heavy pressure on my heart, and the pain immediately disappears. In fact, my entire body went numb. This is what death was like? It was only a few moments later I would find myself reincarnated with the appearance of the [Hero], and as a female as well. Chapter 8: The Day Out Chapter 8: The Day Out 4 days have passed, and it¡¯s finally the first weekend of the school year. Throughout the week, I¡¯ve suffered forced combat training that for some reason differs from my peers, learnt about different plants and monsters in wilderness survival, and listened to more random tales about my exploits in the past. Attending school is a lot harder than I thought. Anyway, it¡¯s now Saturday, and I can finally take a break from all of that. Today, I just feel like sleeping and reading in my room. I don¡¯t want to do any more physical or social activities, it¡¯s too much of a pain. Unfortunately, my mother and a certain friend had other plans for me. ¡°Aria! Guess who¡¯s here!¡± My mother bursts into the room, yelling that, and I immediately pull the blanket over my head. I didn¡¯t want to get out of this warm little spot I have right here. ¡°Come on, dear, don¡¯t be like that!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll handle it, Ms. Brynhildr. You can wait outside for now.¡± Another voice speaks to my mom, and I hear an ¡®okay~¡¯ from my mother before the sound of a door shutting closed can be heard. Although my mother finally left, I¡¯d have preferred her to be here this moment, because that voice I heard was extremely familiar. ¡°Okay then, Mr. Taciturn, time to RISE AND SHINE!¡± The voice yelled out loud, and suddenly I¡¯m being lifted while wrapped in the blanket. The person holding me began to spin me around, and I began to feel dizzy. I don¡¯t let my voice out, and I try to endure this silently. Then, the blanket began to loosen, and I slip out of it, flying face-first straight into my wall. Thankfully, the bed was my landing zone, so I didn¡¯t take any more damage when I fell. ¡°¡­why?¡± I sit up as if nothing even happened to me, and faced the perpetrator of this act of evilness. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s because you didn¡¯t wake up and greet me! Look, we¡¯re friends now right? So friends should hang out with each other!¡± The cheerful girl in front of me states this as if it was only natural to swing your friend around if they didn¡¯t wake up to say hello. ¡°¡­why?¡± I ask a second time. This time I was asking why she wanted to hang out with me today. ¡°Like, I, said! We¡¯re friends now! Therefore, I¡¯m going to drag you out with me and we¡¯re both going to the mall! So let¡¯s get your dressed up!¡± She begins pulling on my clothes and removing them for me, until I was completely undressed and the only thing visible was the bandages wrapping me. Why is it that every girl close to me wants to dress me up? Is it somehow fun to dress up someone wrapped up like a mummy? I don¡¯t understand them. Anyway, she enters my closet and looks through the clothes I have. ¡°Why is there a rabbit costume in here?¡± She asks while pulling out a t-shirt and shorts for me. ¡°Mom.¡± I reply. She snorts to herself, holding back her laughter. I try to glare at her, but obviously no one could tell if I was due to the bandages. ¡°Well, let¡¯s get going. I want to spend the whole day with you, so let¡¯s make the most of it!¡± She grabs my hand and sprints out the room, pulling me along with her. I nearly tumble as we run down the stairs, but manage to maintain my balance. After putting our shoes on at the front door, my mother yells from the living room. ¡°Have a great time, you two! Tell your mother I said hi, Thoth!¡± ¡°Thank you! We¡¯ll be back!¡± My friend shouts back. These two seemed much more compatible with each other than I was. Kind of saddens me for a bit, but I forget about it right away. It¡¯s only a trivial thing. We leave the house, and exit out the front gate, heading towards the downtown section of the city. Thoth tries to start up a conversation on the way there. ¡°So, how¡¯ve you been doing since we last met?¡± She asked. ¡°¡­busy¡­school¡­¡± I tell her. She has a look of surprise in her face for a second, then a grin appears on her face. ¡°Oi, oi, what is this? Our little taciturn is actually attending school? I¡¯m so proud of you!¡± She teases me. I just shrug her off though, and she asks another question. ¡°So, which school you attending?¡± ¡°¡­Krystalis Academy.¡± ¡°Woah! Really!? That school is actually a rival of my school! By the way, I¡¯m attending ¡®Atalin Royal Academy,¡¯ because it¡¯s my parent¡¯s alma mater. They¡¯re both competing for top spot in the kingdom, you know?¡± I shake my head in reply, and she laughs to herself. Then, she began to lecture me about it. ¡°Of course you don¡¯t. They compete through the semi-annual tournament held in the kingdom, the [National Adventurer¡¯s Tournament]! Every school in Atalin sends their best students as representatives, where they participate in a number of events to earn prestige for their school. It happens in the Fall and Spring, but there are different restrictions for these two tournaments.¡± ¡°The [Fall Tournament], which is coming up in about a month and a half, will only allow freshmen and students in their final year of education to participate. This is because they want to show the potential of their new students, and show off their cultivation of students who attended all six years. The [Spring tournament] allows all students as long as they have a level over 10 and stats at least totally 75 points.¡± Right after saying this, as if she just realized something, she stops walking. ¡°Wait, doesn¡¯t this mean that¡­¡± A smile creeps up on her face and she turns her head towards my direction, keeping that smile. I didn¡¯t like it. I immediately began sprinting away, down the road, but she managed to grab the collar of my shirt and stopped me from running. ¡°Aria, you¡¯ll be joining the tournament this fall, right?¡± She says with an evil grin. I had no choice but to agree. She lets me go, and we begin walking again, but I kept my distance from her. She was whistling happily, not caring at all. We kept going like this until we arrive at our destination. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°You really need to take off those bandages.¡± Thoth says to me. We both just left a sweets shop, and walked around window shopping in the mall. I was sucking on a lollipop while Thoth was eating ice cream, something I¡¯ve never tried before due to the bandages. ¡°¡­can¡¯t.¡± I tell her. She understands why, but she still doesn¡¯t like it. ¡°What if I found another way to curse you without giving you such a stupid appearance? Would you take it?¡± I shake my head immediately, which surprised her. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°¡­hide¡­self¡­longer¡­¡± She seemed to understand the message, but pouted her lips upon hearing it. ¡°Fine then. When you change your mind though, come straight to me, okay? I¡¯ll put on a demonic curse so strong that you¡¯ll even have gravity against you.¡± She lets her sadistic intentions for a bit, but returns to the cheerful attitude. We continue window shopping, and roaming around the mall together. It was pretty fun, even though we didn¡¯t buy anything. I just liked hanging out with her in general I guess. Is this what having a friend feels like? When it reaches about noon, we finally leave the mall and head towards the park. As we reach the entrance of the park, my attention immediately focused on a group of people in the center of the park, just hanging out together. I immediately pull on Thoth¡¯s arm and turn around, trying to walk away. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± She asked me. I pointed at the group and made an X with my two index fingers, and she understood the message. I was too late in escaping though. In the corner of my vision I see one of them turn towards this direction, so I begin sprinting away from park immediately, and Thoth left in a different direction. My stats were much higher than hers, so there was no way she could¡¯ve kept up with me, so we split up. I sprint back down the city and hurriedly went into the nearest alley. I wanted to try and keep myself as conspicuous as possible, but I also needed to get away from that park. Why was I working so hard to get away? Well, you see, this group of people was one I didn¡¯t want to interact with after a certain event four days ago. Yeah, that unique group of students that I was eavesdropping on. They were actually looking for me throughout the week, some of them standing by the school gate waiting for me to leave. Fortunately I still had my light magic from my previous life, so I was able to use illusion magic to disguise my appearance. They did the same at lunch, so every time I escaped and left the school, sneaking back in right before classes started again. I don¡¯t know what they wanted from me, and I don''t really care what they want. Whatever request they may have for me, it''s probably going to be annoying and boring in some way. Judging from what I''ve seen as well, it seems like they''re also very persistent, so simply refusing them won''t work. That''s why I''m going to these lengths to escape from them. After taking several turns in the alley, I slow down because I was starting to feel tired from all the running I did. I start walking down the strangely desolate alley, and use [Enhanced Detection] to be sure that they weren¡¯t following me. When I first entered, I saw a bunch of guys smoking in the alley in small groups, and they did give me strange looks when they saw me running through. Now though, there was absolutely no one. As I continue walking slowly, I finally feel someone¡¯s presence. No, I felt three people¡¯s presence. It wasn¡¯t the other students¡¯ though, but those of the boys I saw when I first entered the alley. I turn around to try and look for them, but I don¡¯t see anyone. They were definitely there though, I can hear extremely quiet footsteps slowly making their way towards me, and the smell of cigarettes was getting stronger. They were using invisibility magic. So even thugs like these have mages? Is it a common thing now to be a mage, or a rarity? Back then, they were definitely scarce, but for some random group of thugs to have a mage now, it makes me feel like crying. I don''t have time for that, though. I turn back around and increase my walking speed, trying to navigate through the alleys to escape from a different group of people now. Eventually, more people appear and cut my way off whenever I got close to escaping, and it kept happening until they finally trapped me. They were both in front and behind me, and there was some even above me at the roof of the buildings. They all dispelled their invisibility, and as I thought, it was the same people I saw when I first entered the alleys. ¡°Hey there kid, you lost? What¡¯chu doing walking around our territory?¡± One of them walks up and immediately asks me a question in an intimidating way. I don¡¯t respond to him though, keeping quiet. ¡°Hello, are those ear workin¡¯? Can you understand us, hello? Or are you a completely broke person underneath those bandages?¡± It was clear that he was starting to get irritated, but I still don¡¯t respond. ¡°Pfft, you seriously asking him that? What kind of broken person would run at that kind of speed? He even knew where most of our guys was when we chased him. Clearly he¡¯s some sort of super-kid that was sent here to investigate us. Probably the son of cops or something.¡± Well, he got that completely wrong, but I don¡¯t try to correct him. Unfortunately, the person intimidating me immediately believed him. ¡°Ah, that sounds about right. We can¡¯t have people snooping around in our territory, you feel me? So kid, you¡¯re coming with us.¡± He grabs my hand and tries to pull me away. At this point, should I just beat him down or obediently follow. I don¡¯t get to do either, because something unexpected happens. Screams were heard from above, and everyone looks up to see what was happening. Two figures suddenly jump from the two story building and landed onto the ground next to me and my captor. I recognize both of them immediately. ¡°Raina, go for it.¡± A white haired boy says to his younger sister. A wicked smile appears on her face as she replies. As I thought, she¡¯s someone who enjoys fighting. ¡°Okay. I hope they can keep me entertained.¡± She sprints to the wall with high speed and runs up a few steps before jumping off of it, making a dive kick towards the nearest assailant, who was the man trying to abduct me. He raises his arm to block it, but strength of the kick broke through, shattering his arm bone and smashing into his chest. He¡¯s driven into the ground, and is completely subdued. ¡°So, let¡¯s start off with a bone-breaking symphony, shall we?¡± I¡¯m not sure about the symphony part, but during the next 15 minutes, there was definitely bone breaking. It was a one-sided beatdown from her end, and the screams of many men were heard that day. Now, how am I going to escape in this situation? Chapter 9: The Talk Chapter 9: The Talk ¡°Are you okay?¡± I hear the boy¡¯s voice from a distance while the fight was ending. I don¡¯t say anything, because I¡¯m no longer there. I left behind a [Phantasm] just for the sake of running away. It was a skill that creates an illusion that has full physical substance and properties to the illusion made. It¡¯s cost was a 7,500 points of either health and/or mana. It was a skill that tore me apart to use during my final battle against the [Demon Lord] because I ran out of mana, and had to use my life instead. Add the cost of the final teleportation, some of my muscles were torn as the cost. Although it should¡¯ve been a minuscule cost for me now, considering the fact that I¡¯m sealed, this ability just drained all of my mana and a heavy feeling of blood loss hit me as I ran away, but I stop myself from fainting and keep running. It appears that my little trick has been seen through, though, because I hear a scream from the snake girl towards the directions I¡¯m escaping from. It seems like one of them has the ability to see through illusions. I don''t want to interact with these people at all, so I continue to try and escape with this chance. Of course, all of that could be my imagination, and they just want to talk to me about why I was observing them and ask me to stop, but I kind of don¡¯t want to risk it and will continue to see if I can run away. After several twists and turns, I finally find a way out of the alleys. Straight back into the park where I started from. Sadly though, it looks like I won¡¯t be getting away. It was starting to get dark, and there were very few people still hanging around in the park. I try to walk through, but my muscles began cramping up. What a time for that to happen, right? Well, considering how much running I just did, even with my current stats, maintaining a high speed sprint for long periods of times will hurt my body. Along with the blood loss from using [Phantasm], it was only natural that something like this would happen sooner or later. I manage to shuffle my way slowly to one of the benches, and lay down on my back, waiting for the group to catch up to me. I try not to move as much as possible, just remaining still on the bench, waiting for the cramps to clear up. I soon hear several footsteps entering the park, which began to slow down to a walk. They were all converging towards my direction, but I just lay here and decide to accept whatever happens now. ¡°You really don¡¯t want to talk to us, huh?¡± A voice calls out to me. It was the boy again. ¡°You stupid? Did you think that this guy avoided us for the whole week and ran away from us just now for fun? No! It¡¯s probably because Raina wanted to test him, and could¡¯ve potentially killed him!¡± This sarcastic voice, if I recall, belongs to the skeleton. He seems as agitated as ever. ¡°Stop with your lies, it¡¯s clearly because he saw you and got scared.¡± The voice of the boy with pointy ear replies. Those two are pretty close huh? Those two began insulting each other back and forth, completely forgetting about me. While this happened another conversation began between the wolf and the lizard girl. ¡°He¡¯s probably an [Assassin]. A high level one too, because there¡¯s no way anyone could escape my watch four days in a row without a strong stealth ability. He¡¯s really fast too, based on what we¡¯ve seen already.¡± The lizard girl says. ¡°No, I think he¡¯s a [Shadow Mage]. If he truly was an [Assassin], those thugs wouldn¡¯t even have scratched him in close combat, but instead, he was just about to be captured by them.¡± The wolf-man replied. The snake girl joined in the argument with the skeleton and dark skinned boy. They were all seriously starting different discussions about me in small groups. This is actually pretty irritating to listen to. Only the siblings actually came up and approached me. ¡°So, what¡¯s the problem? Why do you keep running from us?¡± The boy asks. ¡°Because she didn¡¯t want to see you. Got a problem with it?¡± A voice comes from the entrance of the park, and the friend who left me earlier came back. ¡°And why¡¯s that? Who are you anyway?¡± The snake-girl asks. ¡°I¡¯m her friend, and you¡¯re all just bothering her. I¡¯ll beat all of you down if you¨C¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­¡± I said as loud as I could. It wasn¡¯t very audible though, but Thoth understood me anyway. She immediately stopped talking and just glared at them from where she stood. I sit up on the bench, and face the group in front of me. Thoth comes over to my side and stands next to me. For now, I¡¯ll just talk to them. ¡°¡­why, me?¡± I try to ask them, but obviously they were confused. ¡°¡®What do you want from me,¡¯ she says.¡± Thoth was able to translate for me. Thank god she was here, otherwise this would¡¯ve been far more difficult. ¡°Is she¨C¡± The boy begins to ask but Thoth cuts him off immediately. ¡°She can¡¯t speak more than four words. Just shut up and answer the question.¡± How aggressive. I didn¡¯t think that she was this type of person. Even though her stats are probably much weaker than theirs, the intimidating aura she''s releasing is causing them to hesitate a bit. ¡°Well, we wanted to request something of him, or her. But we can talk for a bit if it¡¯ll make her feel more comfortable.¡± The lizard-girl responds. Thoth turns to me, and I nod in confirmation. ¡°Talk to her.¡± This is someone else, isn¡¯t it? The Demon Lord I knew wasn¡¯t as cold as this one. Even in the face of death she was cheerful. What¡¯s with this aggressive change of character? The group hesitated for a bit upon hearing this. Asking for a minute, they walk away for a bit and form a circle, discussing something amongst each other. ¡°Not gonna run from them anymore?¡± Thoth asks me with a worried look on her face. Man, this guy was seriously the previous Demon Lord? I think she cares for his friends a bit too much, and her emotions are changing in heartbeats when it comes to me. I shake my head in response to this, but she kept the worried look on her face. I pinch both of her cheeks and pulled them up, trying to make her smile. ¡°Ow, ow, ow, ow, stop! What the hell are you doing to your own face!?¡± I let go of her face, and she glares at me. ¡°Smile.¡± I say to her. Surprise covers her face for a second, but it disappears as the smile came. My words had too much effect on her, I¡¯m kind of scared about this. It¡¯s like she¡¯s my faithful pet dog, loyal to my every command. This is what comes to mind when I think about that scenario: The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Thoth, fetch.¡± I throw a stick, and Thoth the German Shepard goes to fetch it. ¡°Thoth, sit.¡± She sits down in front of me after fetching the stick. ¡°Thoth, sic.¡± She chases my target down and bites their neck off. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C This is probably one of the scariest thoughts I¡¯ve had about her. Even more than my imaginations of what the [Demon Lord] would look like before I met him. I should try to make sure she doesn¡¯t turn psychotic for me or anything, or else a blood bath would occur to anyone who dare treats me badly. The group finally finishes their small discussion, and returns to speak with me. They decided to begin with introductions to break the ice. Though this didn¡¯t work very well in school, so I¡¯m not confident that it¡¯s going to work here. ¡°So I guess I¡¯ll start. My name is Ash Vanick, and I¡¯m a 14 year old human. This year will be my 3rd year studying at Krystalis Academy. On behalf of our group, we¡¯re sorry for causing you inconveniences.¡± How very polite of him. Honestly, he looked like the type of guy who would have became the hero instead of me. ¡°Raina Vanick. Little sister. 13 years old, 2nd year. Nice to meet you.¡± I call lies. This girl barely even looked like she was 10 years old. Now I¡¯m hearing that she¡¯s 13, and that she¡¯s my senior by one year. Along with that, she was far stronger than most people I¡¯ve seen in my previous life. The girl¡¯s voice was emotionless though, unlike the time when she was just about to fight. Her voice was full of excitement during that. Honestly, she scared me just as much as Thoth. Especially when she gave me that smile when she left after throwing that javelin. ¡°My name is Deome Taliroc. I am a Wolfman, a species part of the Beastmen race. My age is 16, the second oldest in the group. I will be in my 3rd year as well, because all of us except Raina started attending at the same time.¡± Although he has the most intimidating appearance, after listening to him, he sounds like one of the more intelligent people of the group. ¡°I am Peria Gilmuir, a Salamander of the Reptile race. I¡¯m 15 years old, and I¡¯m also a 3rd year. This is my familiar, Ghost, a spirit from Hell.¡± So she was a mage capable of summoning a spirit from a [God Tier] [Dungeon World]. I heard them talking about being over powered, but some of these people should just graduate already and head towards the [Immortal Tier]. ¡°I¡¯m Haki Nitesh, a dark-elf. I met these guys six years ago, and attended the same time they did as well, so I¡¯m a 3rd year. I¡¯m the oldest one here, at 34 years old, so that makes me the senior of every student in the school!¡± He boasts. Well, actually, if anyone was the oldest here, it¡¯d be Thoth here next to me. She¡¯s lived at least 300 years. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re an old man who shouldn¡¯t even be here. Get out of here you damn pedophile, we all know you¡¯re only here for the booty that you¡¯re never going to get!¡± As usual, the skeleton, Ghost, provokes the elf. ¡°What was that, you god damn pathetic slave!?¡± Haki retorts ¡°Shut up! I chose to become her familiar, so we¡¯re partners! Partners!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure the familiar contact made you out to become my slave though?¡± Peria immediately denies their relation, confirming Haki¡¯s claims. Immediately after hearing this, Ghost goes to the nearest corner he could find and takes the fetal position, sulking in it. ¡°Well, now that those two idiots finally shut up, it¡¯s my turn! My name is Minaya Firhasha, a Snake from the Reptile race as well! I¡¯m 15 years old, in my 3rd year as well!¡± The snake-girl introduced herself pridefully. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s there to be prideful about, but she was proud of it anyway. ¡°So that¡¯s everyone from our side. Will you two introduce yourselves?¡± Ash asks us. ¡°¡­Aria¡­ Bwynhild¨C¡° I bit my tongue. Ow. I never thought I¡¯d screw up in my introduction. This was worst than when I tried in school. I look up at Thoth, and pull on her arm, trying to make her introduce me. She faithfully does it. ¡°This is Aria Brynhildr. Human, girl, 1st year at her school. Oh yeah, she¡¯s about 1.4 meters tall, and she¡¯s eight years old.¡± She boastfully tells them my height and age for some reason, and emphasized the girl part. Probably because they mistook me for a boy earlier. They were mostly surprised at hearing my age though. ¡°Wait, what?¡± Haki asked. ¡°Stop right there, stop, stop, stop! So basically, she''s an overpowered kid!? At the same level of Raina!? The new holder of the most [Overpowered Child] has now gone to you! Sorry Raina, but she is way out of your league at this point!¡± Ghost immediately said. Normally when one is overtaken, they¡¯d have a look of depression or something similar, but instead, I can see glints of glee flashing in her eyes. The rest of the group began making comments like this and confirmed the fact with Thoth. Peria used lie detection spells that wouldn¡¯t even have worked if Thoth tried to lie. But they got their confirmation, and became excited. ¡°¡­excited¡­why?¡± I ask. Thoth translated it again for me. ¡°Why are you guys so excited?¡± ¡°This girl is 8 years old, right? But she was still able to see and dodge Raina¡¯s [Ice Javelin] at max speed. That¡¯s definitely amazing potential right there, because Raina here has the makings of an A-ranked Adventurer already!¡± Peria responds. ¡°If I were to guess, her agility is at least 200, no?¡± Deome asks. I remain silent, but I don''t deny it, so they take it as confirmation. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, the record has been officially broken! Over 200 agility at the age of 8! We got a complete monster right here!¡± Haki states. Raina''s eyes were literally sparkling at this point, as she glued her eyes onto me. I can imagine her requesting me to become her sparring partner right after this discussion was over. ¡°That means she should be able to take on ¡®Zellaroth,¡¯ in the Spring Tournament¡­¡± I hear Peria mutter to herself. Not a good sign, it seems that one of my theories is coming true. They want me to participate with them in the tournament. I open my mouth, about to state my intentions of ending this conversation, but I was interrupted by Ash who suddenly bowed down to me. ¡°Please, listen to our request!¡± I couldn¡¯t get out now. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Author''s Note: Warning - Next chapter, MC will turn into biggest pussy 2015, chapter 11 she will regain her bearings Chapter 10: The Request Chapter 10: The Request ¡°Please, listen to our request!¡± ¡°No.¡± I sprint away while they were still dumb founded by how fast I answered, and how clear I responded. My muscles weren¡¯t cramped up anymore, so I took the chance to escape with Thoth. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C It¡¯s been two days since that happened. Since they gave me the option, I declined instantly. Why didn¡¯t I at least listen to them? I think I¡¯ve explained my objective more than a few times, so I¡¯ll refrain from repeating myself. After rejecting their request that day, I returned home with Thoth, who forced me into the bath with her. The scene went something like this: ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°So, Aria, how do you even clean yourself while wrapped like that?¡± She asked me. I was currently inside the tub with her, covered in gauze. Water is still able to soak into my bandages, because the curse doesn¡¯t go as far as to affect that. This way, water can still make contact with my body, and I use this in order to clean myself. I grab the soap, and pinch off a small piece of it. Using magic, I pulled a large sphere of water out of the tub and kept it in the air. I put the soap inside the sphere, and began rotating it so the soap dissolves by the water pressure. After that, with extreme pressure, I pour the water onto me and force it through the gauze, making it spiral around my body. To shampoo my hair, I pour it onto my head, and because it¡¯s a liquid, I¡¯m able to force it through the bandages as well and use magic to rub it on my hair and clean it. To rinse it, I just dive into the water and let use magic to rinse it while I¡¯m under. It¡¯s quite the pain to do it, though, because my hair is getting really long. Sometimes just this cleaning process alone makes me want to cancel the curses. ¡°¡­Are you serious?¡± She stared at me with eyes of disappointment. It kind of made me think about how pathetic I seem, doing something like this so I don¡¯t have to remove these bandages. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Anyway, back to the present, it¡¯s Monday afternoon and it¡¯s the middle of the school day. Currently I¡¯m in [Basic Combat], and yet again, the teacher is making me do strange training different from the other students. Right now I¡¯m blindfolded, and the teacher is striking me with his wooden stick. I¡¯m supposed to be dodging them, but I don¡¯t want to reveal the fact that I can easily use my other senses to adapt to the situation. So I¡¯m just taking most of the hits, and dodge once every few strikes. ¡°¡­why...different¡­?¡± I ask after he finally removes the blindfold. ¡°Why? Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± He says. I shake my head and he sighs, before continuing with an annoyed tone of voice. ¡°It¡¯s because your body¡¯s too fragile from what I can see, so I¡¯m training you in evasion. That way, it doesn¡¯t matter how physically weak you are, as long as they don¡¯t hit you, you¡¯re fine.¡± What interesting logic. Well, I already apply this logic to myself, even though I¡¯m not actually weak. Good example of this is my final battle with the [Demon Lord], where I prioritized dodging his attacks rather than taking it. Rather than thinking that it¡¯s alright if I¡¯m never hit, for me it¡¯s more like I don¡¯t want to take unnecessary damage. Even if my body¡¯s strong, pain is still pain. I don¡¯t like it. ¡°Whatever, as long as you understand that it¡¯s important not to be hit, then we¡¯ll continue with this. For now, go run a lap around the school because I don¡¯t want to see your face for a bit.¡± What a spiteful person. I really hate this guy. I listen to him for now, though, because I don¡¯t want to have him add more laps if he sees me slacking off. It was still useless in the end, though, because upon seeing me finish the lap, he told me to do two more. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C The final bell for the day rings, and [Basic Magic] class ended. Again, it was more lectures about properties of mana and magic, which I completely slept through. Of course, the teacher didn¡¯t know because she can¡¯t see my face. I sit up from my seat and head towards the door, but my teacher grabs me by the sleeve before I reach it. ¡°Aria, mind coming with me for a bit? You don¡¯t have anything planned for today, do you?¡± I shake my head, and follow her as she leaves the room, locking the door behind her. ¡°Thank goodness you¡¯re available today. I¡¯ve been assigned to do some paperwork for the class, so I¡¯d like you to help me sort them out. You don¡¯t mind, do you?¡± Again, I shake my head, which puts a smile on her face. ¡°For now, we¡¯ll head towards the teacher¡¯s office to get the paper, so follow me, okay?¡± She immediately starts walking off before giving me the chance to nod my head, so I just follow behind. When we arrive, I notice that there are no other teachers at the office. It felt strange. School just ended, but none of the teachers are here in the office? Something was definitely off, but I was too late to realize it. ¡°Sorry, Aria. Orders from above.¡± I hear a click from behind, and turn around only to receive a flash of light to my face. I suddenly feel my body being lifted into the air, and I was unable to move my body properly. The blinding light eventually fades, and I¡¯m able to see that I was being lifted by wind magic, but I didn¡¯t know what was bounding me. I see my teacher in front of me, holding strips of paper with symbols and characters I didn¡¯t recognize. Some of them were stuck onto my body, and I assume there¡¯s some sort of unknown magic I¡¯m not aware of that was binding me on these sheets of paper. She places another piece of paper, and I can feel my magic being blocked. She puts on the last piece of paper in her hands on me, and immediately, I fell unconscious. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C When I wake up, I open my eyes and find myself in one of the school classrooms, tied to a chair. I was tied using rope, and I still had some of those sheets of paper pasted onto my body, so I wasn¡¯t able to use any magic to free myself, or unseal myself. Along with that, I couldn¡¯t reach the ribbon on my neck to unseal myself. I was pretty much trapped, unable to do anything. I try to think of the reason why my teacher would do something like this, but I immediately figure out who. How? By the loud voices right outside the classroom. ¡°I don¡¯t think forcing her to listen will make things any better. It¡¯ll probably just give her even more reason to hate us.¡± It was Haki¡¯s voice. Yup. It was that group again. ¡°Is there even anything we can threaten her with?¡± Ash¡¯s voice appeared. I kind of doubt it. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I was able to find something to use. Besides, I think it¡¯ll be better if she resisted a little. I kind of want to see what¡¯s under those bandages.¡± I hear sadistic laugher from Peria, and I become a bit scared. Maybe I should consider just listening? ¡°She should be awake right now. I set this up for you, so it¡¯s up to you to convince her.¡± My homeroom teacher¡¯s voice also appears. So they were working together. Shouldn¡¯t she be fired for this? I mean, she just kidnapped one of her students, something is definitely wrong here. ¡°Thank you, Ms. Kiri. We¡¯ll be sure to get her on our side.¡± Deome says. ¡°No need. Based on what the principal told me, it¡¯d bring a lot of prestige to the school if she was to participate with you guys. Besides, he¡¯s the one who also thought up this plan.¡± I hear something strange. ¡­Something is wrong here. So, the group tattled to the principal about my stats, and he¡¯s actually helping them kidnap me for the sake of having me help them. Should I drop out of this school now, or just destroy it? I really can¡¯t do either, otherwise, I won¡¯t be able to freely explore this world in the future as an adventurer. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Ash. The rest of you, wait out here until we¡¯re done.¡± It seems the time has finally come. The door to the room opens, and both Peria and Ash enters. They were also carrying a bad, but I couldn¡¯t tell what the contents were. All I could do was I watch them walk up to me, and try to keep a strong front. ¡°Hello, Aria! It¡¯s so nice to see you again! Yes, after running away from us, again!¡± Peria says with a fake, cheerful voice. I don¡¯t respond to her, and just watch her from my seat. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. We¡¯re still here to ask her for a favor, you¡¯re only going to give her more reasons to decline.¡± Ash warns her, but she still kept a smile on her face. I didn¡¯t like that smile. ¡°Okay then. Let¡¯s get straight to the point. Will you listen to our request?¡± I shake my head instantly to Peria¡¯s question, which widens the smile on her face. ¡°Why not? What have we done to make you dislike us so much?¡± Ash asks a stupid question. I mean, your sister nearly killed me, you know? Along with that, you¡¯ve been trying to find me whenever you could during school times, and immediately gave my stats away three days after learning it. So, you guys are basically really dangerous, really creepy, and really untrustworthy. Of course, I don¡¯t say this out loud, and provided a different answer instead. ¡°¡­hate¡­socializing¡­¡± Yup, that was my excuse. This causes Ash to sigh, and he steps away from me. I think he¡¯s going to let Peria handle me now. It¡¯s alright, all I have to do is to resist anything she does and decline at the end. At least, that¡¯s what I was planning to do. ¡°Well now, Ms. Retarded Child, how would you like to be stalked?¡± She immediately says. ¡­huh? Wait, what did she just call me? ¡°Did you know, my dad is the director of a certain hospital. Conveniently, I was able to find your file in the database after pleading my dad for a bit, and I found some interesting things in there.¡± So what kind of threat is this supposed to be? It¡¯d make things easier for me if people thought I was retarded, because they wouldn¡¯t try to speak to me in that case. ¡°Based on the examinations given, and the reactions you had to them, your stats were estimated to be all less than 5. The worst stats ever estimated as far as we know. Now, based on what I have in my hands here,¡± She holds up a bronze object in her hands. It was my [Status Plate]. ¡°Somehow, from the lowest stats ever, you¡¯re currently the strongest child known. What kind of 8 year old has a total of over 600 stat points?¡± ¡­Shit. I finally understood what she intended to do. If it was known that my stats took a massive increase by over 600 points as a child, several complications would happen in the future. First, I would have millions of adventurers swarming me to ask how this happened. Second, I would be given some godly reputation due to this. Third, there would be several kingdoms seeing me as a possible war asset, and they¡¯d want to recruit me to cultivate me into their own little weapon. There may be more things than that, but those three are the biggest possibilities that can happen, and they would hinder my future greatly. This group probably figured out that I want to hide my status, so they¡¯re using this as a threat against me. I really can¡¯t decline their offer now, so I have no choice but to accept. ¡°¡­I¡¯ll listen.¡± I say clearly. A smile appears on Ashes face, and a look of disappointment appeared on Peria¡¯s face. Did she really expect me to resist when being threatened with something like that? After that, they call in the rest of the group waiting outside of the classroom, and the entire circle of friends is in here. Heck, even the teacher is here too. Ash stands in front of the group, and when he bows his head at a 45? angle, everyone follows along except for the teacher. ¡°Aria Brynhildr, please, join the Student Council with us after the elections next month!¡± He says on behalf of the group. I was kind of dumb founded, because it wasn¡¯t a request I was expecting at all. I was kind of thinking that they would have asked to become their team member in the Spring Tournaments, or some other absurd thing, but this was pretty simple. They seriously went through all of that work just to ask me this? Normally, I¡¯d decline on the spot, but I can¡¯t risk having my peaceful future jeopardized. Therefore, I try to compromise with them. ¡°¡­ghost member?¡± I ask. ¡°Sorry, as an active member for certain reasons! We cannot tell you now, but we¡¯ll inform when we need you!¡± They say. Very suspicious, it still might lead to me joining the Spring Tournament. Though they did say something like, ¡®when we need you.¡¯ That means I won¡¯t necessarily have to be there all the time, and they asked me to join after the elections, so my face won¡¯t be known as one of the original members of their party. I could always disguise myself with heavy illusion magic as well. ¡°¡­untie me.¡± A grimace appears on Ash¡¯s face, but he listens to me and does it anyway. They only asked me to listen, so I had the option to decline. That¡¯s probably what they¡¯re expecting, but with that threat still standing, I can¡¯t do that. So instead, I¡¯ll answer them as I leave. After untying me, I stand up and walk to the door. ¡°Can¡¯t you at least answer us!?¡± Minaya yells. ¡°¡­condition.¡± I say as I open the door. ¡°Which is?¡± Ash asks me as I leave the room. ¡°¡­identity¡­hidden¡­¡± I say as I shut the door and teleport away using magic. I feel a slight loss of blood from using this magic, but I did it anyway. Why didn¡¯t I do this earlier? Those sheets of paper kept my magic blocked. How was I able to teleport now? I just ripped off the sheets of paper after leaving the room, obviously. They weren¡¯t a form of any magic I knew, but it didn¡¯t seem like type that was supposed to seal someone. There was no resistance from removing it. This unknown magic really surprised me, it was something that didn¡¯t exist in my previous life. It appears that mages were finally able to develop new forms of magic after my death, which was nice knowing. It meant that I was able to increase my magic arsenal and learn them during my time here. Anyway, I left in that manner because of one reason. I really needed to use the bathroom, so I teleported to the girl¡¯s bathroom upon leaving the room. Yep, that¡¯s the only reason why I did this. I couldn¡¯t just exactly rip off the paper in the room and disappear in front of them, so I had to leave their sight before doing this. Otherwise, they¡¯d learn that not only do I have high stats, but that I know powerful magic as well. After completing my business, I left the school without anyone seeing me, and return home. I sleep in bed, and think about the events of today. I was unable to do anything to that teacher earlier, not because I couldn¡¯t do anything against the magic, but more like because she was able to disable me that by blinding me. My combat senses have become dull, so I decide to try and train them again. Maybe I should try going to that dungeon they were talking about earlier. I believe it was called the [Forest of Fire]. I¡¯ll invite Thoth along too, she¡¯ll probably be extremely excited about doing so. I can only imagine what her reaction will be to this, and I smile to myself as I sleep. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Due to the feedback, I decide to just edit the chapter and ''improve it.'' Chapter 11: The Reflection Chapter 11: The Reflection It¡¯s been three days since I accepted the strange group¡¯s request, but they haven¡¯t spoken to me since then. They¡¯re probably too busy doing what they need to do, considering that they¡¯re going to be running in the Student Council Election. I don¡¯t know what they want from me, but I need to prepare in my own way as well. Right now, it¡¯s the afternoon, and school just ended. I told my mother in the morning that I¡¯d come home late. Why? That¡¯s because I was going to train. Training? What the point in that with my current stats? Well, I¡¯m extremely powerful, yes, but 8 years of peace and love from my family really weakened my mentality and sense. So for now, I¡¯m going to train at a nearby dungeon with a certain friend. ¡°Aria~! I¡¯m here, let¡¯s get going!¡± Speak of the devil. Thoth arrives in front of my school by foot, clearly excited to come with me. She had a shortsword with her, which I¡¯m not gonna ask how she got it. Along with that, I seriously don¡¯t want to ask where she got this, but she was wearing red, plated armor that was actually her size. There was even a helmet. I didn¡¯t even know they made armor that small, and I can¡¯t imagine any child besides Thoth and I to actually be able to walk around in that, let alone running. She seemed like some sort of midget knight, it¡¯s kind of funny to see her walk around in it. Now that I think about it, two eight year olds exploring a dungeon is definitely something that shouldn¡¯t be done, right? I mean, first off, most adventurers were at around 17 or 18 before they are prepared to go on their journey, but here I am less than half the age of those people, ready to stroll in and kill monsters. I didn¡¯t even have any proper equipment on. What was I wearing? A T-shirt, some shorts, and my bandages. My weapon? My gauze covered fists.. ¡­Nothing¡¯s wrong at all, you know? This is pretty much all I need in combat. Although I¡¯m capable of using any weapon other than guns, I¡¯m actually much stronger when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. What if I encountered a huge monster that I can¡¯t damage? Well, I have two powerful skills I developed after suffering a couple of losses in my previous life.
Arcane Strike
Enchants attacks with pure mana, increasing the damage based on the amount of mana gathered in the strike
Echo Strike
Causes an attack to echo between two points continuously based on the amount of mana gathered in the strike.
These two abilities go hand-in-hand together. It¡¯s the main reason why I was able to kill the [Demon Lord] in our final battle. I used my health to create the remaining six [Phantasms], and saved my remaining mana for the last hit on the demon lord. I believe for [Arcane Strike], the mana-to-damage ratio is [10:1]. A very powerful spell in the hands of a mage, I believe. For [Echo Strike], the mana-to-echoes ratio is [1000:1], while the mana-to-bounces is [100:1]. That means, the first echo will bounce 10 times within my target, a feeling similar to heavy vibrations. It¡¯s a skill that can only be utilized by someone who is both a mage and a fighter, because of two conditions; a strong, melee attack and an excess of mana to use for the echoes. Unfortunately, I can only afford to use my [Arcane Strike] because I didn¡¯t have the excess amount needed for the echoes. But I believe that¡¯s more than enough for now. We began running to the outskirts of the city, many people giving weird looks towards Thoth, but she ignores it. We talk on the way there. I say we, but it¡¯s her asking me stuff while I nod or shake my head. ¡°Are you seriously going to be wearing no equipment at all? Not even a weapon?¡± I shake my head in response. ¡°You¡¯re well aware that the [Forest of Fire] is a C-rank dungeon, right?¡± I nod my head, and she sighs to herself. ¡°Look, I just reached level 15, and my stats are barely enough to explore it, you know? I wouldn¡¯t be able to clear it if I didn¡¯t have any of my skills, you know? I even prepared fire resistance armor just to explore it without melting to death by the heat. That means that this dungeon is pretty~ difficult to take down.¡± I don¡¯t understand what she¡¯s trying to get at. ¡°¡­so?¡± I ask. She immediately trips on the spot and face plants herself into the sidewalk, which surprised nearby pedestrians. She gets up immediately and began running again as if nothing happened. ¡°So. What. I¡¯m. Saying. Is. Take that stupid ribbon off your neck!¡± She yells at me as we¡¯re just about to leave the city. Oh yeah, there was that, wasn¡¯t there? I completely forgot about this thing, it eventually became natural to me to see it. I grabbed the ribbon and tear it off with all my might. The entire ribbon suddenly becomes engulfed in black flames while the plastic gems burst. That was the effects of removing a cursed item forcefully. Suddenly, my body felt light, as if several bricks that were on me was suddenly lifted off of my chest. I can feel my mana reserve increase greatly, and my running speed also increased. I slow down though, because I needed to maintain the same pace as Thoth, who was slower than me. She glared at me though, upon seeing my speed increase right after pulling off the ribbon. ¡°I hate your [New Game Plus], you know that, right?¡± I smile to myself upon hearing this, because it was amusing to see our roles turned around. I really hated the fact that as a [Demon Lord], her level was 5 times my own. For some reasons, demons had a higher level limit than the Humans did, which was an extremely irritating thing. She stops talking to me until we reach the [Forest of Fire], our destination. Just like the name implied, there was a forest that was pretty much on fire. I¡¯m surprised that the fire hasn¡¯t spread, but it seems like magic is containing it so it stays within the dungeon¡¯s area. It was a bit strange to see though, because what you can see is a giant field of fire, and it just stops right there like it¡¯s in an invisible box. ¡°This thing isn¡¯t as scary as I thought it¡¯d look.¡± Thoth breaks the silence and comments about it¡¯s appearance. ¡°¡­castle¡­scarier¡­¡± I reply. ¡°I know right? I designed the entire thing myself you know, it took me a whole decade to actually finish it.¡± Just before she goes on a prideful speech about her castle, I stop her by sprinting towards the edge of the flaming forest. Using [Water Magic], I generate an aura of ice cold air around me, and I dive right into the fire. After emerging from the other side of the flaming wall, I check the surrounding area of where I landed, making sure my ice spell, [White Zone], was working right, and it was. The fire around me didn¡¯t enter a five meter radius around me, as if I was in a giant, invisible ball that was unaffected by the terrain. The spell, [White Zone], pretty much dropped the temperature heavily in the area around me, turning the atmosphere around me into one similar to a frozen tundra. This spell seemed to be more than enough to counteract this environment, because I was starting to feel a bit chilly despite standing in a flaming forest. For some reason, the flames within the forest weren¡¯t as wild as the flames at the border. There was no smoke as well, as if the fire was just on the trees as decoration. I hear a yell from the direction I dived from, and a figure comes flying through the fire. It was Thoth, who took her time jumping through, I guess. Fortunately, she landed within my zone, so she wasn¡¯t suffering heat damage from the terrain. Though I think that I probably screwed up something already due to the glare she gave me after getting up. ¡°Why the hell did you jump through the fire!? Don¡¯t you know that there¡¯s an entrance to this thing!? If you didn¡¯t have something like this, you¡¯d be dead just being inside of here in a few seconds! Exploring this dungeon is slow process, not something you should just go right into!¡± I feel like I heard this before in my [Adventurer Studies], but I stopped listening because I didn¡¯t really think that kind of information would¡¯ve been necessary. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. She continues to lecture me for a while, but then she suddenly stops talking, and pulls out her shortsword at a terrifying speed, thrusting it past my shoulder while pulling me behind her. Right after, I feel a wave of heat and hear a loud growl. I turn to see what was attacking us; a large wolf with bright red fur. Fire danced at the tips of its tail, and its mouth was releasing flames as it snarled at us. Right now, Thoth¡¯s shortsword is going through it¡¯s lower jaw, right into it¡¯s mouth and into the upper head, killing it instantly in one hit. ¡°It was great that I noticed it in time, but I want to ask, why the hell did you not even feel it¡¯s presence?¡± Thoth turns and glares at me yet, again, but this time, her eyes also had a hint of disappointment. I don¡¯t answer her question, and this causes her to become even angrier. ¡°You, what have you been doing these past 8 years? Are you not training your body anymore? Have you been neglecting your combat sense since reincarnation? Were you just laying back and living a peaceful, happy life? Hell, you probably just jumped right into this dungeon thinking it¡¯d be exactly like a little stroll through the forest. Did your sense of danger just completely disappear upon obtaining your new stats?¡± All right on the mark. It hurts to hear it from her though. ¡°If you want to stroll around for fun in a place like this, then why are you even trying so hard to seal your strength? Just because you have some high numbers you think you can¡¯t be defeated? Remember our battle! I had numbers five times your own stats, yet you were still fast enough to dodge my attacks, strong enough to force me back, and had a large arsenal of destructive magic to unleash. Yet, here you are, with no trace of your former prowess in combat.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really disappointed in you, former [Hero]. Although I do enjoy spending time with you, if you¡¯re not that same overwhelming man who destroyed me in a single punch, then you¡¯re a stranger whose existence I could care less about. Right now, you¡¯re not the former legend, Thoth, but the young child, Aria. A little girl who can¡¯t stand up for herself.¡± She scolds me harshly, but I don¡¯t say anything. I couldn¡¯t deny it, after all, I really have weakened considerably in the past 8 years. ¡°For now, I¡¯ll be exploring the forest ahead of you. When you¡¯re done standing there, reflecting on yourself, you can go ahead and leave after, Aria.¡± She leaves the [White Zone] and walks into the forest alone, and going until I can¡¯t see her through the sea of flames. All I do is stand there alone, in the small, cold area I created for myself. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C What have I exactly been doing with my life? ¡­living peacefully, I guess. If I want to live peacefully, then why am I trying to hard to accomplish this goal I¡¯ve been searching for in my previous life? That won¡¯t bring me peace. Something fun to do? You can¡¯t find that in peace at all. Sure, it¡¯s nice and all living in tranquility in love. But that¡¯s not fun. Why am I trying to curse myself and seal my powers away so much? To protect my peace? The peace that won¡¯t let me fulfill my goal? I really haven¡¯t been thinking about what I¡¯ve been doing so far. The [Demon Lord] was pretty much right. I¡¯m taking it easy, just living a life of a young girl named Aria. That¡¯s not what I should be doing though, if I¡¯m truly aiming for a life of excitement and fun. I say I seal my powers to protect my peace. In reality, I¡¯m just doing it to challenge my limits and see how far I can get without it. I say I want to avoid attention to protect my peace. This is an unconscious reaction of my body wanting me to turn away from my goal. In reality, I don¡¯t care of what the masses think of me. I just step forward, and do whatever the hell I felt like doing. I didn¡¯t talk to anyone, no one talked to me, and it was that simple. I fought the [Demon Lord] to search for my ¡®fun,¡¯ and died for it. But I didn¡¯t regret it one bit. Why? It was exciting. It was a fun fight. That doesn¡¯t mean I have to give up my current life. All I have to do, is just quit trying to hide myself. I don¡¯t care if the world is going to learn about me. I don¡¯t care for the requests of pitiful people. I don¡¯t care about the fate of any kingdom that needs me. I¡¯ll decide which tasks I¡¯ll complete, which people I¡¯ll help, and which kingdoms will fall. And right now, I¡¯m going to attend this school for the next six years, and see how far I can go with one percent of my power. My thoughts are beginning to clear up. My mana begins to leak, something that should never be done in a dungeon, apparently. The valkyrie said that mana attracted monsters towards oneself, but I don¡¯t care. I¡¯ll let all the mana within me leak. So what if they¡¯re coming as a horde? So what if this is a C-ranked dungeon? I¡¯ve taken on harder challenges. They will be a stepping stone to my improvement, a link to my former prowess, a chain of victories that will start now. I grip my fist tightly, and raise them in front of me. I calm my heart, steel my body, and focus on my senses. I dissolve the [White Zone] surrounding me completely. At this moment, a heavy aura of death surrounds the area around me. An aura that unconsciously activated when I prepare myself like this. The [Aura of the Heartless]. A warning to all of those who approach me, are approaching imminent death. The ground under me beings to shake. They all ignored the warning. Perfect. At this moment, I will not use both [Arcane Strike] and [Echo Strike]. I will not use [Enhanced Detection]. I will not use any magic. Right now, I will stand my ground with only my physical abilities. Let¡¯s see how far one percent will take me, here and now. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Author''s Note: Spoiler : Sorry for the cliff hanger guys, but there''s definitely going to be a long ass battle scene next chapter. Be prepared for it! Anyway, what Aria went through now, was basically what I just went through. I kinda realized based on some comments that the story was taking a little strange turn off what it''s supposed to be, and the MC is becoming emotionally weaker than what she started off with. I felt a bit guilty, thinking stuff like, ''huh, so I screwed up a bit, eh?'' In the end, I don''t regret writing what I did, but instead, I just decide to accept what just happened and proceed on with the story anyway, trying to build off what happened and continue my improvisation. I''ll ignore any hostility, ill-will, and harsh comments directed towards me, and try to actually learn something from each reply you guys give me. The happy-go-lucky protagonist will gain a small tinge of her former self back, becoming a ''badass'' as some has asked for. But I''ll still keep most things the way they''re going. A slow story to develop character, with the occasional awesome battle scenes for you guys to imagine, and put up the occasional poll to see what you readers think. But do know that I began writing this for myself, and I''ll keep going for my own self satisfaction, so if I feel like I''ll experiment or add a random weird twist to test something, I''ll do it. But thanks for stayin'' this long with me anyway, guys. I hope you''ll enjoy this emotional outlet of my imagination in the form of a story, and that you''ll all continue reading in the future. Chapter 12: The Horde of Fire Chapter 12: The Horde of Fire Sweat begins to soak into my bandages as the heat from the forest¡¯s flames surround me. At most, I¡¯ll last about 15 minutes before my body becomes affected by the temperature. I continuously leak mana around me, and the ground begins shaking as the stampede of monsters approach my location. They all ignore the aura of death that hits them, and continue converging onto my position. I stand my ground, and keep my guard up. The first monster leaps out of the flaming bushes to my right, and I react to it immediately. It was another one of those flaming wolves that nearly ambushed me earlier, so this is going to be revenge for that. Its jaws were wide open, head tilted sideways, aiming straight for my throat. I was faster, though. Without taking a step, I simply rotate my body and tilted it slightly to the left, before throwing a left hook right at its head. The punch hits its muzzle, and it crushes right through the jaw, disabling its mouth. I take one step to the left so it lands on the ground next to me, before stomping on its neck to finish it off. I stop leaking mana, and focus on the battle that''s now starting. A group of three monsters appear from the flames, trying to attack me from three sides. From behind, was a large boar with a flaming back. On the left side, there was a deer with its antlers on fire. Both the boar and the deer were much larger than me, but I can use that to my advantage. To the right, a large bird with red and orange feather designs was flying straight at me. There doesn¡¯t seem to be any fire on the outer body, so most likely, it was a creature that can breathe fire. The boar begins charging at me, and the deer maintains its distance for now. The sparrow started to dive towards me, and it would arrive faster than the boar, so I¡¯ll take care of that for now. As the bird dived at me, it opened its beak and a small, quick ball of fire bursts from the small mouth. I step to the side and dodge the fireball, while waiting for the sparrow to come within one meter around me. Just as it was just about to pierce me with its beak, I dodge it and thrust my arm out, catching it. As predicted, its outer body wasn¡¯t very hot, so I was able to hold it. I apply pressure to my grip, and kill it by crushing it¡¯s bones in my grasp. Blood starts dripping out of its body and into my hands, the bandages absorbing the blood. I don¡¯t mind it though, and continue on with the battle. Still holding on to the bird, I turn to the left and release a back kick straight at the snout of the boar charging at me. The snout sinks into the creature¡¯s face, and was killed instantly. My leg was stuck for a second though, and the deer tried to take advantage of this and charged at me with its fiery antlers pointed at me. By the time I was able to pull out my leg, the deer was 2 meters away from hitting me. I didn¡¯t have enough time to try and dodge it, so instead, I leapt back and raised the sparrow¡¯s corpse in my hand, holding it like a dart. I throw it straight between the antlers and into the skull of the deer, but it didn¡¯t go deep enough to kill. It did cause the monster to steer its direction though, so its charge barely miss me. As it ran by me, I grab one of its antlers and using my strength, pulled on it as hard as I can to drag it onto the ground. I snapped off a part of the antler in the process, which I use to cut its underbelly after it fell over on the ground. This was the fourth kill in a row, but it still wasn¡¯t the end. A large group of wolves cautiously surround me, and I notice that one of the wolves was much bigger than the rest, and its fur was dark red. The alpha wolf, leader of the pack. It growls at me, and I slowly grab the antler of the deer I just killed, snapping off a small part of it. The fire that originally covered the antler was extinguished when it died, so it¡¯s safe for me to use now. Upon hearing the snapping sound, it served as a signal for them to strike, and three of the wolves lunge at me at the same time, from three different directions. This time, I took the offensive stance, and lunged towards the nearest wolf. As it was just about to land on me. I lean backward and slide under it. With my back making friction with the ground, I slam the weapon in my hand right into its chest as I slide by, and the corpse dragged over me into one of the other wolves that tried to pounce me. I stand up immediately after, facing the closest target to me, which was the alpha wolf. Its body was at least 3 meters tall, big enough to bite off the head of the boar I just killed earlier. The wolf growls at me, and sprints forward, swiping its claws at me when it got close. Instead of stepping back, I go forward and under its head faster than it could react, gripping it by the snout. It begins to shake its head to try and shake me off, but I twist it with all my strength, killing it easily. I swing off the snout before the body fell limp onto the ground, and landed on my feet. One of the wolves tried to pounce on me just as I land, but instead, I dodge the lunge by quickly twisting my body to the side. As it flies past me, I grab its fur and spin the wolf around me. Using the momentum from spinning it, I ram the body right into the closest tree, and trunk of the tree is destroyed by the force. Gravity forces the tree to fall over, landing on the body of the dead alpha wolf. Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t lucky enough to have it land on the remaining two wolves. Both wolves were now hesitant in coming to attack me, so I came to them instead. I run straight towards both wolves, which caused them to react. One of them ran right at me, trying to bite my neck like the other wolves. I easily dodge the attack and kicked its head, sending it flying into another nearby tree. The tree didn¡¯t fall from the force, though. I look at the final wolf, who didn¡¯t come at me. It wasn¡¯t running either, but the monster¡¯s mouth was opened widely showing its sharp teeth, ready to bite at me. I recall from the earlier ambush with Thoth that these things also breathe fire, so I immediately dash towards it, but I was too late. A large ball of fire is shot from its mouth, and the momentum from my dash couldn¡¯t let me escape to the sides. Instead, I push off the ground as hard as possible, and leap as high as I can. Thankfully, I was able to jump over the 2 meter fireball, and I was spinning in the air above the wolf, about to land right on top of it. I swing my leg down on its head, feeling my leg sink right into the skull of the monster, the monster died on the spot. After killing the final wolf, I stand alone in the middle of a small pile of monster corpses, with their blood splattered onto me. "Battle has ended. Burning Alpha Wolf has been defeated. Received 6,000 experience. Burning Wolf x 5 has been defeated. Received 7,500 experience. Boar of Flames has been defeated. Received 2,000 experience. Deer of Fire has been defeated. Received 2,500 experience. Heat Sparrow has been defeated. Received 750 experience. 3,018,487,500 experience until level 32.¡± I relax my guard as I hear the nostalgic voice of the [System]. It¡¯s been 8 years since I¡¯ve actually done anything for it to report, after all. Though, that amount of experience needed until the next level is the largest number I¡¯ve ever seen from the [System]. Not that it matters, anyway, and the amount needed probably increased due to the fact that I cursed myself this heavily. Normally, I would be scavenging these carcasses and taking what materials I could find, but right now, I didn¡¯t really need it. I only came here to fight, after all, and regain battle experience. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Although I didn¡¯t suffer any direct attacks from the monsters, the hot environment is starting to affect my body, and the blood of the monsters is extremely hot. I didn¡¯t feel it at first because the bandages stopped it from making contact with my body, but now that it has soaked its way through, it has really started to burn my skin. I recreate my [White Zone], and sit down on the nice, cold ground. While keeping an eye on the area around me. I create water out of the ice generated by the [White Zone], and use it to soak my bandages in the cool water, and remove the hot blood from it. Afterwards, I heal any burn wounds I have on my body. Right after doing so, I stand back up and prepare to start moving in the forest. Unfortunately for me, the system has other plans for me. ¡°Regional Announcement: Conditions for [Forest Fire Hidden Boss] has been fulfilled. Summoning [Inferno Bear] within the vicinity.¡± Thank you, [System]. I totally needed that. A few seconds after that message came, I hear loud steps coming towards me. Immediately, I remove the [White Zone], and raise my fists. A large figure can be seen through the flames, coming towards me. What emerges from the flaming forest, was a large bear completely engulfed in fire. It stands on its two hind legs, the height of the creature well above four meters. This thing was larger than the Alpha Wolf I killed earlier which only sized to 3 meters. If I recall correctly from my [Adventurer Studies], bosses were a completely separate league from the rest of the monsters in the dungeon. They were known as [Dungeon Masters], and they resurrect exactly a year after they are slain. Even the weakest D-rank dungeons contained [Dungeon Masters] that requires several B-ranks to take them down. Now, there was only one other being that was stronger than the [Dungeon Masters], and those are the [Hidden Bosses]. These creatures required strict conditions to summon them, and very few of them have been discovered. As far as I know, no one has discovered the [Hidden Boss] of the [Forest of Fire], so I guess I was the first to do so. I don¡¯t know what I did to fulfill these conditions though. Well, then, what should I be doing now? Obviously, beat down this bear. Am I going to use magic? Nope, still no abilities. How am I going to kill it? I¡¯ll improvise during the battle. Now then, I¡¯m going to be locked into melee combat with an opponent I can¡¯t directly touch, without using any of my skills. What¡¯s the first thing I do? I sprint to the nearest corpse, which was a wolf, and swing it by grabbing its legs, throwing it at the bear. The bear caught the body mid-flight with its mouth, and bit into the corpse, crushing the bones in a single chomp. Well, now I know that it¡¯s jaw strength is insanely strong. This also lets me know that the bear is not completely made of fire, and has a physical body under all those flames. My little experimenting also marked the beginning of the fight, because when I turn to run again, the bear chased after me. I head towards the body of the deer, yet again, and snap off the longest part of the antlers I could find. I feel sorry for the poor deer¡¯s corpse, but I really need to use its antlers as weapons against this kind of opponent. They were very durable, and fire resistant because, well, they were originally fine even when on fire. Although they seem weak because I¡¯m able to snap them off easily, that¡¯s just because of my strength stat. I turn around after snapping off a long portion of the antler, and held it like a sword, facing the bear that was behind me. It swings its massive right arm at me, but I step back so it barely misses me. After dodging the swipe, I jab the antler-sword in my hand as hard as I can into the elbow, and I can feel it piercing through the skin. Along with that, I hear a loud snap from its arm, and I pull back immediately. Great, so I was able to harm it using this poor excuse for a sword. The bear groans while it takes a few steps back, being a bit more cautious of me now. This time, I took the offensive, and dashed forward, making an overhead swing aimed at its head. This time though, the bear reacted quickly and stopped the antler with its left arm. Surprisingly, it¡¯s strength is equal to mine, and the antler snaps under the pressure. I leap to the side, letting go of the shattered weapon. Now I¡¯m disarmed, I have no choice but to punch and kick him. Why can¡¯t I just snap off more antler parts? Well, currently, he¡¯s in the way of me and the body, so I can¡¯t exactly do that. So right now, I¡¯m going to try and kill him the same way I did to the Alpha Wolf; neck snapping. I sprint towards the bear, who roars at me and lunges forward with its left arm swiping out at me. I dodge the attack by jumping over it, and landed on the arm. Before my shoes and bandages caught fire, I jump off quickly and try to grab the head of the bear. It realizes my intention though, and dodges to the right just before I was able to do it. Now I¡¯m in mid air, completely vulnerable, and I can see its left paw coming in to hit me. I raise my arms in front of me to block it, and the heavy hit from the bear sends me flying a few meters away straight into a tree. The force of the blow makes me cough a bit of blood out. This is not good at all, it was getting hard to breathe. I stand back up slowly, and the bear begins rushing straight towards me. It attempts to tackle me with its body head on, but fortunately for me, this thing is stupid. It just launched me into a tree, and now it¡¯s rushing straight at me. Just before the tackle hits, I dive right with all my might, and managed to just escape the range of its attack. I hear a loud snap, and I turn to see the bear rolling back from the impact. The tree was on the verge of falling over, and I decided to give it the last blow needed to do so. This was my last chance of killing the bear without touching it directly. I run towards the tree with my remaining strength, and punch the shattered part of the trunk as hard as I can, making the tree fall. It wasn¡¯t going to land on the bear though, so I hugged the base of the falling tree and try to change its falling direction onto the bear myself. My back feels like it¡¯s on the verge of completely snapping in half, but I still try shift the tree¡¯s landing point. As the bear recovers from its shock, it looks up to see a giant tree landing right onto it¡¯s face. It dies immediately from the weight of the tree, and victory is mine. The voice of the system confirms this for me. "Regional Announcement: [Inferno Bear] has been slain. Rewards have been granted to the slayer." ¡°[Inferno Bear] has been defeated. Received 75,000 experience. Received [Cloak of Immolation]. 3,018,412,500 experience needed until level 32. New title has been received: [Inferno Hunter].¡± Oh, the teacher did mention something like this. Upon defeating a [Dungeon Master] or [Hidden Boss], a reward was given for it. I wonder how we receive it though? As that thought runs through my mind, a white light shines in front of me. It flashes brightly, and when it finally fades, I see a well-decorated chest in front of me. I open the chest, and inside, as the name of the item implied, a red cloak in the chest. For now, because it was empty anyway, I throw it into the extremely limited spatial pocket. Well, I''m far from becoming the previous warrior I was, but this helped a bit. I can feel some of my combat instincts returning, so it won''t be long until I return to my former self. I create the [White Zone] again, and heal myself using light magic. Thoth told me to leave after reflecting myself, but I''m going to do the opposite and follow her into the dungeon. We came here together, after all, so we''ll leave together as well. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Author''s note: Thanks to ArchmageNaoki for proofreading (More like editing, but that''s fine too)! Chapter 13: The Cloak of immolation Chapter 13: The Cloak of Immolation After healing my wounds using magic, I proceed to walk through the forest in search of my friend. With the [White Zone] surrounding me, I cool down my body that began to burn up due to the environment. It has been about an hour since we first entered the dungeon, so we had to leave soon, or else our parents would begin to worry. As I navigate through the forest, I hear loud voices of other people. I turn off my [White Zone] and listened carefully. It was a conversation between two young adventurers, both male. ¡°Which way do you think the [Hidden Boss] is?¡± An excited voice asks. ¡°You still want to look for it? The thing¡¯s already dead, isn¡¯t it? There¡¯s no point to look for it now.¡± A duller, bored voice appears right after. ¡°But I really want to see it! A bear that¡¯s on fire! That¡¯d be an amazing sight! Besides, we came here to look for it after hearing the announcement right? It¡¯d be a shame to leave without even seeing its appearance!¡± So people immediately came here to slay the thing, huh? I guess it¡¯s only natural, after hearing a system announcement about a new hidden boss. ¡°I think it¡¯s more important to find the party that killed the monster. The [Dungeon Master] for this dungeon needed a small group of [A-ranked] adventurers to bring it down, so I want to know which group took down the [Hidden Boss] so fast after it was summoned. Based on how fast it died, I assume this group is also the same one that fulfilled the conditions to summon it. That means they¡¯re at least [S-Ranked] adventurers, but what would they be doing in this kind of low-leveled dungeon? Are they doing this dungeon for fun?¡± This man here is quite a theory crafter. I mean, he got quite some things wrong, but who¡¯d actually guess that an 8 year old child with no rank would kill a [Hidden Boss] on her own? After listening to a part of their conversation, I decided to stop and continue traversing through the forest. There was no point to listening to their talk, and I needed to find Thoth before it became dark, so I continued my search. Along the way, there were several more adventurers roaming the forest, also looking for the [Hidden Boss]. I avoid them on the way, using stealth and illusions to bypass them. If any of them saw me now, I¡¯d probably be reported to the [Adventurer¡¯s Guild] for trespassing without a [Adventurer¡¯s Card], and be expelled from school. That¡¯d make life a bit more difficult for me in the future, so I want to avoid that if possible. Occasionally, a wolf or a sparrow would try to ambush me, and I killed them every time they did so. By the time I finally found my target, it¡¯s been over half an hour, and I killed another 4 wolves and 9 sparrows. At the edge in the east side of the dungeon, I see Thoth surrounded by a large pack of wolves, in the middle of combat. Upon seeing this, I was just about to dash in and help her, but it seemed like she didn¡¯t need any help at all. She was going on the offensive against the pack, attacking the small fry first. As they try to bite her and strike her with their claws, she evades them and counter attacks, hitting a lethal area every time. It takes about two or three attacks for her to kill them, occasionally getting a good thrust into their mouths and heads, killing them in one hit. Some of them stay back and try to breathe fire at them, but her armor absorbs the flames, rendering them useless. Sometimes she counters using with some of her [Demon Skills], only one that I recognized. It was the same one she used against me in our final battle, a spell that fires a large, dark lance towards the enemy. Another one she used created a larger, shadow version of the weapon she¡¯s using in her other hand, allowing her to dual wield with a magic and physical weapon. After killing the final wolf, she faces off with the alpha wolf, and raised both of her swords, ready to strike. The wolf snarls at her, but doesn¡¯t make the first move. So instead of waiting for the wolf, Thoth dashes forward. She makes an underhand slash with both swords, and the wolf tries to dodge it by jumping back a bit, before jumping forward to bite at her. Something strange happens with her movements though. As if defying the laws of physics, her slash stops instantly as if the momentum just disappeared into thin air. She raises both blades and spun around instantly, slashing down at the Alpha Wolf¡¯s head, both swords entering its skull. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. She also used this strange movement at the end of our final battle. After killing my last [Phantasm], her body instantly shifted to my direction as if she didn¡¯t just have thrusted her spear in the opposite direction firing her demon lance spell. Now that I got a clearer look at it, it seems that she has the power to make the momentum of her attacks disappear at will, allowing her to change her stance or position. This kind of ability would be invaluable in group battles and performing feints. She was alone now, standing between a pile of wolf corpses, this was my chance to go up and talk to her. I didn¡¯t know what to say though, and because of that, I just remain where I stand. Fortunately, I didn¡¯t need to say something. ¡°Have you regain your bearings after slaying a [Hidden Boss], [Hero]?¡± Thoth says out loud, and looks towards the direction I¡¯m at. So she knew that I was here the whole time. I step out the shadow of the tree I was hiding behind, and walk up to her. Suddenly, she thrusts her shortsword at me, and I catch it using my hands by grabbing the flat sides of the blade. She smiles upon seeing this. ¡°Welcome back, [Hero].¡± I nod in response, before saying; ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C After that, we left the dungeon the same way we entered. Why? Because I found it easier that way. Thoth scolded me again as soon as it happened, but I ignored it. It reached dark by the time we return to the city, so we immediately parted ways upon entering the city. I decided to take a little detour before heading home, going towards the directions of the slums. I roam around in this desolate area before finding an empty parking lot. I pull out the item I received from the [Inferno Bear], wanting to see its effects. It was a hooded cloak that looked like it was tailored for a full-grown adult, but I tried to wear it anyway.The size of the cloak suddenly adjusts itself as I put my arms through the sleeves. Is it just me, or does every magic equipment now have growth correction? I wish more of these things existed in my previous life, because there were several times where I was too small to properly wear some chestplates or my hands were too big to wear certain gloves. Anyway, I equip the [Cape of Immolation], but nothing happens. I try inserting mana into the cape, nothing still happens. I check my skills list to see if anything¡¯s been added, but nothing appears. I was beginning to feel irritated, and decided to just burn the item. I didn¡¯t need something like this anyway. I throw it onto the ground and set fire to the cloak using a basic fire spell. For some reason, the cloak doesn¡¯t burn to a crisp. Instead, the fire on the cape just burns continuously, and it doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯ll go out. I realize something, and extinguish the fire immediately using water magic. I wear the cloak again, and just like before, set it on fire using magic. The entire cloak becomes engulfed in flames, but I didn¡¯t feel any heat being emitted from the cloak. After testing it by increasing the temperature of the fire, nothing happens to the cloak as it continues to burn indefinitely, the fire changing color as the temperature rises. It reaches the point where the entire cloak is now completely engulfed in white fire, and the asphalt under me begins to melt under heat, but I keep it solidified using magic so it doesn¡¯t sink me like quicksand. When I try to extinguish the flames this time, it took a lot more effort due to the extreme temperature of the fire. This thing was amazing, it can absorb fire to make the flames become stronger, and the user doesn¡¯t even feel the heat underneath the cloak. I¡¯m sorry I tried to destroy you earlier, Mr. Cloak. You¡¯re very useful. I put the cloak back into the spatial pocket after testing it thoroughly, and began to head home. My mana pool was nearly depleted from burning the cloak and extinguishing it, along with maintaining the asphalt. I barely have enough mana to set it on fire one more time, but I won¡¯t be able to extinguish it again. For now, I¡¯ll return home. I have school tomorrow, and I¡¯m pretty tired from the events of today. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Author''s Note: Sorry for the short chapter thing time guys, got no proper excuse. Sorreh. Edit: Guys, guys, I just found out how to change the thread name I can actually fix the names of previous chapter! YES! Chapter 14: The Short-Term Goal Chapter 14: A Short-Term Goal ¡°You, how are you improving so fast?¡± Avern asks me. Well, I¡¯m not holding back anymore, but I can¡¯t exactly say that. In fact, I was completing most of his training perfectly, but he hasn¡¯t bothered to notice until now. I think of a way to reply to him, and decided to give an excuse that was commonly used in my previous life. I point at myself, and say; ¡°¡­special.¡± The wooden stick in his hand snaps, and a look of irritation appears on his face. ¡°Oh really now? Well Ms. Special can go run another three laps around the school!¡± For now, I listen to him, because I was in a good mood. It has been a whole month since the events in the [Forest of Fire]. I went there three more times afterwards, training myself to regain my combat instincts. Although it was basic training, following Avern¡¯s instructions did help somewhat to improve my senses. I¡¯m now able to fight while blind folded, using sound, touch and smell to detect enemy attacks and location. The Student Council elections were starting today, and Ash was one of the nominees to become Student Council President. The assembly was to take place during the last period of the day, so [Basic Magic] class was cancelled for today. Not that I care for it, nor for the elections. Today, my mom said she would pick me up after school and take me to the castle in the center of the city, which is a place where she works. Her job was a military instructor, training recruits to become proficient in gun combat, and I was able to finally see these weapons in action. I¡¯ve seen many pictures of them, and heard the sounds they make upon firing a projectile, but I haven¡¯t actually seen one being used. It was something that excited me very much. And today, my mother was going to bring me to watch a mock battle between the recruits. As I jog around the school, day dreaming about seeing these weapons in use, I suddenly felt a killing aura behind me. I dodge to the left, and a figure flies right by where I¡¯m standing. Someone just tried to dive kick me while I was off guard. How dangerous of him, can I report him to the authorities and have him expelled? While I have these silly thoughts in my mind, the figure rolled forward after landing, and turns around immediately, facing me. It was a boy I recognized, but didn¡¯t know personally. He was from [Homeroom], and if I remember correctly, he was a loner in the corner of the classroom. A young boy around 11 years old, he had short, black hair like Thoth¡¯s, but his eyes were silver. I don¡¯t know why he suddenly tried to ambush me, and I don¡¯t remember incurring his wrath in any way, but I get my answer immediately from him. ¡°As I thought, from the way you move, you¡¯re a martial artist as well, aren¡¯t you?¡± He says. I don¡¯t respond to him, and instead, I just stand there looking at him. ¡°Normally, I¡¯d recognize a martial artist at sight, but those bandages didn¡¯t allow me to see your appearance, so I couldn¡¯t tell. Please, give me the honor to duel you.¡± I got bored of him talking, so by the time he finished this sentence, I was already behind him, jogging again. ¡°Wait!¡± The boy immediately caught up from behind, running besides me. ¡°Why did you decline my challenge?¡± ¡°¡­boring.¡± I say with a quiet voice, but he heard me. An expression of shock appeared on his face. ¡°Are you trying to say that I¡¯m not worthy of your time?¡± I nod at this, and he freezes immediately, falling behind as I continue jogging. I feel the air behind me shift, and I turn around immediately to block an incoming high kick. Grabbing his leg with one arm, I began swinging him in a circle around me. This was quite fun, actually. After a few revolutions, I pull his body towards me, and grabbed him by the chest. One arm holding his left thigh, the other holding his chest, I begin spinning him above my body, before placing him down back on his feet and jogged off again. I hear his body fall onto the ground, but I don¡¯t turn back to look. That¡¯s it? I won¡¯t harm him or warn him not to mess with me again? I think I gave enough harm toying around with his body like that. If any fighter got their body played around like that without a sweat, their self-confidence will definitely drop. Most likely, this will make him think twice about challenging me again. By the time I finished my third lap, the bell rang, and class ended. Thank god it did, because upon finishing my third lap, the teacher looked even more irritated upon seeing me complete it at a fairly quick pace without catching my breath. He probably would¡¯ve added more laps if it wasn¡¯t the end of class. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Today, we¡¯ll be learning about [Monster Invasions].¡± Ms. Avin states. Upon hearing this, my interest becomes piqued, because I¡¯ve never heard of these sieges before. ¡°A [Monster Invasion] is a random event that occurs when a [Dungeon World] sends monsters to take over another world, the target usually being a [Living World]. Sykerion has not experienced any of these yet, but several other worlds have had this event happen, some worlds even falling and transforming into a dungeon world.¡± ¡°When a [Monster Invasion] occurs, all Adventurers originating from that world will be given an order to be recalled forcefully, or else their [Adventurer¡¯s Card] will be disabled. During the invasion, monsters will enter via the [World Gates], and come in waves.¡± ¡°With each wave, there is a boss monster equivalent to a [Dungeon Master], known as the [Wave Boss]. In order to stop a wave, the [Wave Boss] must be killed, and the wave will end. Of course, any monsters that remain after killing the [Wave Boss] must be hunted, and the next wave will start randomly.¡± ¡°When the final wave comes, it will be a wave like no other. A random amount of [Generals] will be summoned to lead different legions of monsters, while the [Commander] of the wave will be the last one to enter through the [World Gate]. The [Commander] must be slain along with the [Generals] in order to successfully repel an invasion, and the world will be given an increase in level and stat limits.¡± After that, the lecture turned into a discussion of how difficult these invasions were, which worlds fell to these invasions, and will the Humans actually be able to repel any of their [Monster Invasions] without outside help. The answer the teacher gave was ¡®no,¡¯ but I don¡¯t think we¡¯re going to need help. Honestly, I want an invasion to happen just to see how far I can get without unsealing more than 10% of my power. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C After the lessons ended, everyone was to head towards the arena for the Student Council elections. The arena building was a giant colosseum, that took up one fourth of the [Generalized Zone]. Under it, there was several floors that contained rooms for preparation, practice, and sparring. With that, each floor had a different environment created and maintained by magic to help train Adventurers in different terrain. Right now, everyone was gathered at the arena above ground, sitting on the spectator¡¯s seat encircling the arena grounds. Upon entering, everyone was given a small device that allowed us to vote for whoever we wanted to. There was a large, white platform at the center of the arena where the nominees would take turns reciting their speech. Honestly, this event bores me. I practically ignore every nominee up there, including Ash, and began to play with magic in my hands, creating little pretty elemental balls before dispersing it into the air. I was able to formlessly manipulate magic, but I wasn¡¯t able actually do anything with it. It was a skill that helped me learn and master magic, but I can¡¯t create any original magic with it. When all the speeches were over, everyone was allowed to vote for who they thought should be the president. Obviously, I selected Ash, and after choosing who we vote, we were allowed to leave, returning the devices to the teachers on the way out. Stolen story; please report. What a boring event? Of course it was. I mean, it¡¯s not really that exciting to watch and listen to people talk about improving the school. I only wanted to get this over with so I can go to the castle with my mom and learn about [Magic Guns]. I began skipping towards the entrance of the school, and I see my mother waiting there for me. Upon seeing me, a smile appears on my face, and she catches me as I dive into her arms. She knows how excited I am about this, so of course, she¡¯d be excited as well. Any parent would be happy if their child was interested in their occupation. At least, if it¡¯s a job they like, and I¡¯m pretty sure my mom enjoys her job. ¡°Hey Aria, how was school today?¡± She asks as we leave the school. I give her a thumbs up, indicating that I had a good day. For the entire way to the castle, she asks me about what I¡¯ve been learning and how well I¡¯ve been doing in my studies. My responses were mostly vague, but she seemed satisfied with my answers anyway. When we reach the castle, I was fairly astonished by its size. Back then, the castle of Krystalis was the largest in the world, but this castle was at least 1.5 times bigger. As we approached the entrance, a couple of guards walked up to stop us, but upon seeing my mother, we were given clearance to enter immediately. Apparently my mother is an important figure here, to the point where she¡¯s allowed to casually walk around the castle grounds. We enter a large building near the training grounds, and the inside was similar to an archery range. Instead of bows and arrows though, people were using guns and bullets. There were several people in the range, who were all firing at practice targets with several different kinds of weapons. If I didn¡¯t have these bandages covering my face, my eyes would probably be sparkling for everyone to see right now. A woman walked up to my mother, and immediately saluted her. ¡°Welcome back, ma¡¯am. As ordered, the recruits have separated into two groups and are prepared for the mock battle.¡± She reports to my mother. ¡°Good, have them start immediately. I will be watching with my daughter from the observer¡¯s tower.¡± After saluting her again, the woman left the range to give out the orders. ¡°Let¡¯s go Aria, we¡¯re going to be watching the mock battle now. You¡¯ll get to see how dangerous guns can be in war.¡± She exits the firing range and I follow behind. We leave the training grounds, and head towards the other side of the castle before entering a large tower which I assume is the [Observer¡¯s Tower] that she mentioned earlier. After climbing to the top of the tower, through a large, glass window, I was able to see a huge, empty field made of stone in front of the tower. ¡°Just wait a bit, you¡¯re going to see something amazing.¡± My mother says, and I keep my eyes on the field. Suddenly, large cracks began running through the empty field, and they continued until they covered the entirety of the field. Right after, the field begins shaking heavily, and the earth begins to shift greatly, changing the flat field drastically into several hills. Grass starts to grow on the field, along with plants and trees. Soon enough, the entire field was transformed into a jungle, with no traces of the empty, stone land that was there earlier. Several people entered the field, lining up on the opposite sides of the field. I assume these are the recruits participating in the mock battle. My mother pulls out some sort of device I didn¡¯t recognize and spoke into it, saying; ¡°Begin the mock battle.¡± Immediately after saying that, a loud siren was sounded, and the soldiers immediately ran into the jungle. My mother explained each soldier¡¯s position and weapon as the battle started. ¡°You see that man in the front? He¡¯s a frontline, infantry soldier, and he¡¯s holding a INF70, a magic flamethrower that can fire flames up to 1500? Celsius.¡± ¡°That woman at the back, she¡¯s a sniper. The weapon she¡¯s holding is a MDR-320, a magic rifle that has the ability to pierce through some of the heaviest magic barriers. Unfortunately, its weakness is that it can¡¯t actually penetrate heavy, metal armor.¡± ¡°You see that person carrying that large, cylindrical cannon on his back? He¡¯s a heavy infantry soldier, and he can actually fire that thing on his shoulder. It¡¯s called a MCC, a weapon that fires a large burst of magic energy that can easily raze through enemy troops. It takes a while to charge though, and it can easily be stopped because it¡¯s a stationary target.¡± As the battle goes on, my mother continues explaining each soldier type and weapon, and I listened earnestly, trying to remember what I can. According to my mother, none of these weapons had actual ammunition in them, and they were all bullets made of paint so that it wouldn¡¯t kill when it hit their target. I watched how the battle play out, seeing soldiers set up ambushed by using the trees as a height advantage, while the flamethrowers burn down portions of the jungle to force the enemy to a different position. Apparently these flames were cursed to not do any actual damage to living beings. How convenient. The most interesting thing I saw though, was when two soldiers confront each other in close range combat. Unlike the other soldiers, these ones held pistols and fought each other like martial artists. Whenever they were mid-distance from each other, they would fire at their opponent, but the bullet would be deflected by the other''s projectile. Even when they began close combat, they would try to fire their pistol at close range at each other while striking each other with their fists and weapon. The shots were often missed because the weapon would be redirected last second. I pull my mother¡¯s sleeves, and point at those two men, signaling that I wanted to know who they are. ¡°Those two are just like mommy. They¡¯re [Gun Knights], and they¡¯re soldiers who are able to fight in close combat by using their guns as a melee weapon, and firing it when the enemy is vulnerable. These people are rare, and often become a high ranking soldier or adventurer due to their prowess in guns and martial arts.¡± There it is, my goal from studying 3-6 years in Krystalis Academy. This kind of class interested me heavily, and in a modernized world like this, having this kind of ability will become invaluable. At the end of the battle, the jungle was completely ravaged, and soldiers that were defeated stood up from the ground. They were pretending to be dead after being shot, I was kind of surprised that they were able to stay like so for so long. When all the soldiers leave the field, the grass, trees and plants begin to return into the stone ground, while the field itself begins to flatten itself. After flattening itself again, the cracks merge together, mending itself back to normal, and the field returns to it¡¯s original state. It really was an amazing thing to see. After descending the tower, my mother went to talk with the recruits, discussing mistakes and improvements they should be making, while praising some of the people who did their jobs right. Afterwards, we left the castle and returned home. ¡°¡­thank you.¡± I mutter to my mother on the way back. A smile of glee appears on her face, and she crouches down and hug me. ¡°Anything for you, sweetie. I¡¯m happy that you enjoyed your time here. Makes me feel like it was worth it to bring you here.¡± She replies. Later that night, after eating dinner, I went to my room immediately. I lock the door after entering, and hurriedly opened my bag. Although I was thankful to my mother for bringing me to watch the battle, this is the main reason why I went in the first place. I pull out a small, metallic object that I ¡®borrowed¡¯ from the castle. In my hands, was a small device, known as a [Magic Gun]. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Author¡¯s Note: Obviously, the gun names are made up. If they resemble the names of real guns in any way, then it¡¯s a coincidence and I¡¯m too lazy to change it, lol. Chapter 15: Kazaric Ravine Chapter 15: The Kazaric Ravine ¡°Oh my god! Where did you get that!?¡± Thoth¡¯s voice yelled at me as she saw the device I was carrying in my hand. Currently we were meeting up at the slums district, at the parking lot where I tested out my [Cloak of Immolation]. Four days after going to the castle, I asked my mom to call Thoth¡¯s home for me, and told her; ¡°Slums, parking lot, Saturday.¡± I hung up immediately after. Here we are meeting up in the morning. We were going to go to a different dungeon today, because Thoth¡¯s stats went up and thinks we can finally take on a [B-Ranked] dungeon together. By the way, this was her level after a month and a half since I last checked:
NameThoth Farlite
Age8 Years Old
GenderFemale
TitlesNone
ClassesNone
Level29
Health2,455
Mana2205
Strength83
Agility97
Intelligence75
I think that¡¯s pretty damn impressive, 15 levels in a month. She might reach level 100 faster than I did in my previous life. Anyway, now that we¡¯re here, she sees the weapon I have in hand, and is completely amazed just by seeing it. Well, it did have a cool appearance, and it was a weapon that didn¡¯t exist in our previous lives, so of course we¡¯d be amazed by a projectile weapon that is much more efficient than the bow and arrow. By the way, the gun I have in hand is known as the [HNTR], a weapon of the strongest pistol category, [Magnum]. According to my mother, this thing was the hardest to use among magnums because its recoil was greatest out of all the pistols, and the mana cost for each bullet was too high. Its power and accuracy is guaranteed though, a weapon worthy of being a [Rare-Class] item. Based on the description, I thought it was a weapon that fits me, due to having high strength to handle the recoil, and high mana to fire the bullets. It was 250 mana per shot, the fifth highest in the [Small Guns] category. The biggest perk to this gun is that it doesn¡¯t use actual, metal bullets, but creates the bullets by condensing the mana and giving it a physical substance, creating a ¡®magic bullet.¡¯ This means, as long as I had the mana to fire it, I didn¡¯t have to reload the gun. ¡°I want one! I want one! Hey, where did you steal that? I¡¯m going to get one too!¡± How rude, I didn¡¯t steal it. I¡¯m just borrowing it you know? Indefinitely, that is. ¡°¡­castle.¡± I point towards its direction as I say it, and her face becomes crestfallen. Obviously, the armor and weapon she had before were all stolen from her school, which was easy for her because she was a student, and a former [Demon Lord] with all her skills. But when it came to something like the castle, which is sure to have heavy security, there was no way to steal it. I was able to do it because I entered with my mom, and while we were at the firing range, I was able to grab the gun out of the holster of the woman who reported to my mother. Of course, neither of them noticed, and I used a high class invisibility magic on it so I can carry it around. There was a barrier surrounding the castle that would set off an alarm if something was removed without permission, but I was able to force my way through without tripping the alarm. Thoth neither had the access nor the ability to steal from that stronghold, so she wasn¡¯t able to obtain access to those. ¡°¡­school?¡± I would assume the top school competing with mine would also have a class for [Magic Guns], so they would need to have their own. ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t do that. Their armory for that is in their firing range, a place I don¡¯t have access to and can¡¯t sneak into.¡± So stealing their armor and weapons is easy enough? Something¡¯s wrong here. By the way, this time, Thoth was wearing some sort of light armor I¡¯ve never seen before. Apparently, she says that it¡¯s the modern world version of body armor, and it was much more durable than the chainmail armor worn in our previous lives. Her weapon was a spear, the one she was most proficient at. After our short exchange, we left the slums and went into the outskirts of the city. In the opposite direction of the [Forest of Fire], was the [B-Ranked Dungeon], [Kazaric Ravine]. As the name implied, it was a large ravine, but you can traverse down and within the ravines using naturally made bridges of stone and ice. It¡¯s a mystery about how these bridges were created, but it takes a great amount of force to break them. There were several floors created inside the ravine itself, in the form of ice caves. It was also possible to go straight to the final floor by just jumping down the ravine, but of course that isn¡¯t recommended. ¡°By the way, what¡¯s with that cloak?¡± Thoth asks me on the way there. ¡°¡­surprise.¡± I replied. I got a glare for this, but she didn¡¯t pry any further. I was wearing the [Cloak of Immolation] already, excited to test it in combat. The monsters of this dungeon should be ice-related, if I remember correctly, so having an aura of fire will be useful. When the dungeon came in sight, the both of us stopped immediately. Thoth wanted us to actually use the entrance this time so that we can, ¡®explore the dungeon properly and thoroughly.¡¯ There were Guild Members standing by at the entrance, which was a giant stairway down into the first floor of the ravine. For some reason, there was also a huge group of adventurers, most likely an expedition into the dungeon. Though, these people were all very powerful, even one of them alone could explore without trouble, so why was so many needed? I didn¡¯t really care though, for now, I just needed to get through the entrance. In order to get by them, I used the same high class invisibility magic to smuggle the gun out, on myself. Thoth, on the other hand, can apparently use spatial magic to some extent. She has a skill called [Spectral Dagger], which creates a [Spectral Shadow] if embeds itself into a non-living target. Upon creating two of these shadows, she can enter the shadows and use it like a portal. There can only be two of them at one point, and if she tries to create any more, it removes the older shadow. It sounds like a cool skill, right? Anyway, I¡¯m supposed to hold this dagger, and sneak by the large group of people. After finding a safe place for her to access through, I¡¯ll stab it into the wall and stick my hand through it to show that I¡¯ve set up the shadow. I walk by the crowd easily, entering through the entrance and walking down the stairs. Upon entering the first floor, the air became quite chilly, but it felt like being in my [White Zone] in the [Forest of Fire], so I didn¡¯t mind it much. The dungeon itself was very cave-like, and there were several tunnels carved throughout the floor. I roam throughout the floor for a whole minute, and after confirming that there were no monsters in the vicinity, I pull out [Spectral Dagger], and dispel my invisibility Suddenly, the floor began shaking, and I threw the dagger up by accident, being startled by the spontaneous event. A shadow with a radius of nearly 3 meters appears on the ceiling, created by the [Spectral Dagger]. Damn, I screwed up. Hm, how should I explain this to Thoth? Well, for now, I guess I need to let her know the portal¡¯s set up. I punch into a wall of ice nearby, and grab a small rock of ice from it. I throw it at the shadow, and sure enough, it goes right through it. I came back through the portal right after, much faster than when I threw it in. I might have hit her by accident upon throwing it into the portal randomly. Soon enough, Thoth tried to walk through the portal and ended up falling from the ceiling, hitting the ground face first. ¡°¡­Aria, why is the shadow on the ceiling instead of a wall, like I told you?¡± She stands up, and looks at me with a smile on her face. There was no happy feelings in that smile though. I couldn¡¯t tell her that I slipped up because the floor shook, that¡¯s one hell of a back excuse, so instead, I raise my hand to my temple, tilt my head and say; ¡°¡­teehee?¡± A few seconds later, she¡¯s hanging me by the leg off the edge of the floor, threatening to drop me down the ravine. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C After pulling me back up, she sighs to herself and decides to just forget about it and start exploring the dungeon. We began navigating through the cave-like dungeon and soon enough, we enter a large, empty part of the cave. At the other side, there were several tunnels we could take. ¡°Okay, for now, we need to determine which tunnel is safe to take and which isn¡¯t, so I¡¯ll leave a [Spectral Dagger] here and¨C¡° She tries to explain a method that seems safe, but that didn¡¯t seem very fun, so I interrupted her. ¡°Too long.¡± I say straight up to Thoth, and randomly walk through one of the tunnels. I want to see what lady luck has in store for me, so let¡¯s take our chances, shall we? ¡°Wait, wait, wait, you can¡¯t just do that! Aria! Get back here, we can¡¯t risk something like this!¡± What a worry wart she was. With that attitude, I¡¯d think that she¡¯d be on board with something like this, but I guess she still prioritizes our safety before anything else. I continue on anyway, and I hear her say, ¡°Oh geez, fine! Wait up for me!¡± She catches up to me in the tunnel, and head through together. The tunnel branches off to even more of paths, and I randomly pick one again. Soon enough, I find myself in a small, rectangular area that seemed man-made rather than natural. It was completely empty though, which was strange. Thoth enters right behind me, and looks around in the small room. "This room is way too suspicious. Let''s just leave before¨C" Thoth''s words are cut off again. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Suddenly, the entire floor shakes, just like earlier, and the walls around us begin shifting and cracks began to run through them. A bright light surrounds us, and I can feel mana gathering in the area around us. The shaking becomes incredibly intense, but then it comes to a sudden stop. The bright light eventually fades, and we¡¯re in a completely different area from the room we were just in. We were still in a cave, but it was a massive clearing with ice pillars randomly placed around, and sharp icicles sticking from the roof. Small crystals embedded on the cave walls, allowing us to see the area around us. The temperature of the place was colder, so I assume that Thoth and I were sent to a deeper part of the ravine randomly. ¡°I think we just entered a teleportation trap that sent us to a different part of the ravine.¡± Thoth echoes my thoughts out loud, and right after saying that monstrous growls surrounded us. ¡°Aria, this is all your fault, I¡¯m definitely going to get you back for this when we get out of here!¡± She shouts at me, and takes a stance with her spear. ¡°¡­sorry.¡± I whisper, but this was hardly the time for that. We try to pinpoint the location of the growls, but they were echoing throughout the cave, making it impossible to do so. For some reason though, we could see shadows behind the walls of ice . Based on the amount of shadows, we were surrounded by an extremely large group of monsters. ¡°¡­eighteen¡­minimum¡­¡± I say to Thoth. ¡°Then we¡¯ll make it a contest to see who slays the most.¡± She replies with a smile on her face. Looks like she''s finally acting as her personality should be; aggressive and excited for combat. I raise the magnum I had with both hands, and held it the same way I saw the soldiers do it at the firing range. There were the iron sights created on the top of the gun that was used to aim where the bullet is fired. Raising it to eye level, I aim it at the closest shadow, and put my finger on the trigger. The shadow becomes bigger, and soon enough, the figure behind the wall smashes straight through the ice, giving me a clear view of what it was. A large, blue, humanoid being with several eyes on its head. The arms of the monster are extremely oversized, much bigger than the body itself, but it didn¡¯t have any legs, so it used those instead for walking. It opens its mouth, and roars at me, and begins rushing towards me using its oversized arms. I aim the iron sights right at the head of the monster, and input mana into the device. After a second of giving it mana, I pull the trigger. Only a quiet, click was heard before a small projectile is fired from the gun at a speed faster than I can see it. No sound was made from the actual shot itself. The recoil from the shot forced my body to slide back, but I was still able to hold the gun properly. The bullet doesn¡¯t hit the head like I intended, but it does penetrate the chest of the monster, which falls instantly and dies on the spot. The momentum of its charge and the slippery ice floor kept it sliding towards me though, so I had to jump to the side in order to dodge it. That¡¯s one of them down, but several more begin shattering through the walls as well, and smaller monsters were coming in behind them. This was way more than the amount I estimated earlier. I raise the gun again and aim for the next monster charging at me, the same kind as before. Again, I pull the trigger, and only the click was heard while the bullet instantly penetrated the monster¡¯s body. Suddenly, I noticed a monster that managed to get within two meters of me, and turn to face it. It was a monster that was similar to a feline, with blue fur and crystal scales on its body. It was extremely fast, much more than the javelin that Raina threw at me before. It lunges at me, intended to pounce on top of me, but before it reaches me, I swing my gun arm and shove the nozzle right into its mouth before pulling the trigger. The back of its head bursts open as if an explosion just went off inside its mouth. The recoil of the gun was too much for one arm, causing it to swing upwards with the nozzle still in the monster¡¯s mouth, dragging the corpse up. I was able to keep my grip on the handle, and I pull the corpse off with my left hand, and raise my gun for the next target. As more monsters came forward to try and overwhelm us with sheer numbers, Thoth and I mow them down at a rate faster than they could throw their bodies at us. There was a variety of them; a huge rat with light blue fur and sizing up at around two meters, a bat that fired icicles from its wings, an rabbit with oversized butterfly wings on its back. These things seemed more like patchworks of animals rather than monsters, but I don¡¯t feel like knowing why. Right now, I just want to survive this ordeal with Thoth and get out of here. I kill two of the rabbits while they were mid flight, getting used to the recoil from the gun. Currently, I can fire every 2 seconds, but my accuracy still wasn¡¯t amazing. Luckily, as long as I hit the body, they¡¯ll die in a single shot, so I don¡¯t have to worry about that. I decide to try a combat experiment, and actually ran up to the monsters. A large feline similar to the one I killed earlier runs up to me as well, and leaps at my upper body. I drop low and slide under it, and as it leaps over me, I aim the magnum right at its stomach. With both hands on the handle, I pull the trigger, and kill it at point blank range. The recoil from the shot forced my body to be slammed onto the icy ground under me, causing my slide to stop immediately. I raise my legs up and swing it back, causing myself to jump up and stand again on my feet. One of the bats tried to fire icicles at me while I try to get up, but I turn my back to it and use fire magic. I wanted to keep this cloak a surprise until we reached a strong monster, but I¡¯m going to have to activate it now. The [Cloak of Immolation] sets on fire brilliantly, and melts the icicles before it pierces through. I pull the hood over my head, and my body is engulfed with fire. I aim my gun at the bat, and fire it. Luckily, I was actually able to hit the small target, because it was quite far away. That seemed to be the last of the monsters, because the system voice appeared. ¡°Battle has ended. Strongarms x 3 has been defeated. 33,000 experience has been received. Kazaric¡¯s Felines x 4 has been defeated. 36,000 experience has been received. Rat of Madness x 3 has been defeated. 48,000 experience has been received. Winter Bats x 6 has been defeated. 30,000 experience has been received. Snow Bunnyfly x 5 has been defeated. 36,000 experience has been received. 3,018,103,500 experience until level 32.¡± ¡°Holy crap, your entire body¡¯s on fire! That¡¯s so damn cool!¡± Thoth yells at me from behind. I turn to her and see a pile of corpse around her. ¡°Why do you have all these cool things? Where did you get this cape!?¡± ¡°¡­[Inferno Bear]¡­¡± That crestfallen look returns to her face, and immediately, she¡¯s sulking in a corner. I go pat her on the back, and hear her mutter with a quiet voice; ¡°Why don¡¯t I ever get these things. Why can¡¯t I be this lucky. I want to hunt [Hidden Bosses] and get items too.¡± After a minute, she regains herself and stands back up. ¡°Whatever. Let¡¯s just try to find a way out now, I don¡¯t want to be stuck here all day.¡± Unfortunately, exactly like the time in the [Forest of Fire], as we¡¯re about to leave, the [System] voice popped up with an message. ¡°Regional Announcement: Conditions for [Kazaric Ravine Hidden Boss] has been fulfilled. Summoning [Yeti] in the vicinity.¡± It was probably because of Thoth¡¯s muttering earlier that she jinxed it, so I turn to glare at her, but she had an expression of joy on her face. A loud roar resounds through the cave, and the [Yeti] smashes through the ice just like the other monsters did earlier. Soon after though, a message that neither of us expected, was spoken by the system. ¡°Regional Announcement: Timer for [Dungeon Master Revival] has finished. Summoning [Frozen Viper] in the vicinity.¡± A bright light flashes from the center of the cavern we¡¯re in, which caused Thoth¡¯s expression of joy turned into one of regret. A large snake made completely of ice is in the center of the room we¡¯re inside. I assume this thing in front of us was the reason why there were several adventurers outside right now. They were preparing to come in after the thing was summoned. On one side, there was a [Hidden Boss]. On the other, there was a [Dungeon Master]. ¡°So, [Hero], take your pick. The snake, or the furry?¡± As if she wasn¡¯t in despair a second ago, a smile appears on Thoth¡¯s face. I guess at this point, we can¡¯t do anything but fight, and try to enjoy the moment. ¡°¡­[Yeti].¡± I reply. ¡°Well screw you, you¡¯re taking the viper. You got a flaming cloak anyway. Let me have the prize this time.¡± She immediately rejects my decision, and walks towards the [Yeti]. I don¡¯t argue, and turn towards the viper. I raise the magnum in my hand, and aim it at the head of the giant snake in front of me. I doubt this thing will fall in one shot like the other monsters. The [Yeti] behind me roars, and the snake in front of me somehow hisses despite having no vocal chords. As if in sync, both the [Demon Lord] and I say the same, provoking words that start our individual battles. ¡°¡°¡­bring it on!¡±¡± Chapter 16: The Frozen Viper Chapter 16: The Frozen Viper ¡°¡­bring it on!¡± I say that out loud at the snake of ice in front of me, provoking it. It hisses at me, and charge straight at me. It was approximately 10 meters away, but it was closing the distance between us fast. I fire the magnum in my hands, and the magic bullet flies straight at the viper. Suddenly, its speed spiked like crazy, and it evaded the shot that even I couldn¡¯t see. It charges right at me, mouth opened, ready to swallow me whole. Fortunately, I was able to jump to the right in time and dodge its charge. After sliding by me, it turns around and watches me. Looks like its speed is back to normal, but I can¡¯t tell if that sudden burst was its innate speed or a temporary skill. I raise the gun again and fire immediately, this time before it started moving. Again, it dodges with its insane speed, and charges towards me again. It slowed down about halfway though, returning to its normal, slithering speed. I fire again at it, and it tries to evade, but I was able to hit it this time. Sadly, though, my accuracy with guns is still terrible, so I was only able to harm the tail end of the snake. The force of the bullet causes the snake to fly back with its tail, stopping its charge. Considering that it didn¡¯t tear off completely, that body of ice was considerably tough. Suddenly, I feel a heavy presence to my side, and I turn to see a large block of ice coming right at me. Apparently the [Yeti] threw it at Thoth, and missed, therefore, it has conveniently coming right at me. Unable to dodge, I aim the gun at it and fire, thought firing at it m the situation worse. The force of the bullet caused the block to burst into smaller pieces, and now several sharp shards of ice was flying right me. The [Frozen Viper] tries to take advantage of this situation and lunges at me with its burst of speed. Let¡¯s see, what can I do in this situation? Oh, I got a flaming body right now, so let¡¯s use that to our advantage. I increase the temperature of my cloak by burning it with more flames, causing it to turn blue. After raising it, I aim the magnum at the snake again while ignore the fist sized shards coming at me. I hear the shards evaporate as they reach me, and I wait until the snake¡¯s speed returns to normal to fire. 7 meters. 5 meters. Three meters in front of me, and I pull the trigger. The snake¡¯s speed immediately took a fall, and the magic bullet hits it right in the head. Ice shatters and spreads everywhere, the body¡¯s momentum stopped by the force of the bullet. I lower my gun, and turn to watch Thoth¡¯s battle. Upon turning around, I hear a loud scraping sound behind me, but I assume that¡¯s the snake¡¯s final moments of movement. I watch Thoth, who is locked in heavy melee combat with the [Yeti]. I say heavy, because every time her spear hits the monster, the impact of the attack can be heard even from here, while every time she blocks the [Yeti]¡¯s attacks, you can clearly see her being forced by the strength. I was careless to think that it would fall by a single bullet. As I watch them exchange hits at each other, I suddenly realize that the [System]¡¯s voice didn¡¯t state my victory. I turn around as fast as I can, but I was too late. The snake was already right above me, it¡¯s mouth closing in. Even though the [Cloak of Immolation] still had blue flames emerging from it, the snake was able to bite me and lift me. It swallows me, and I¡¯m forced into the frozen body of the viper. I try to increase the flame¡¯s temperature even further, but the ice within the snake¡¯s body counteracted the fire, only letting me maintain the current heat. Not wanting to waste mana, I stop burning the cloak, and the flames extinguish immediately. With the hand holding the gun, I turn my wrist to the side, and I pull the trigger inside the snake. I was only using one arm, so the recoil was extreme, and my arm smashes against the inside of the snake. Considering that it was made of really strong ice, it really hurts to have it smash like that. I ignore the pain though, and start pulling the trigger over and over. Shards of ice flies through the tight stomach of the snake, cutting me, and my right arm starts becoming numb. I can feel the bones shattering, but I still continue firing. Finally, the body shatters apart, and I¡¯m able to force my way out of the body. I crawl out of it¡¯s stomach, and used my left hand to help bring myself to stand. My body hurt everywhere. I have a shattered right arm, several cuts on my body, and my mana was around 30%, which is about sixteen bullets if I use the gun. Even less if I need to light the cloak on fire. I look at the body of the snake that I just crawled out of, separated into two pieces with gaping holes that lead to the inside of the snake. The [System] still didn¡¯t state my victory, so that means it¡¯s still alive. Wondering what was going to happen next, the body suddenly begins moving again, and I see the reason why it didn¡¯t fall earlier. The holes begin mending itself, and as if nothing happened, the front half of the snake that I crawled out from begins moving again. The other half mends its hole as well, except it creates a new head in the place where the hole was at. I completely underestimated the power of [Dungeon Masters], monsters whose strength relies not on stats, but on their unique abilities. Albeit, , now I was battling two snakes, and they both have the exact same speed and durability. If I try were to destroy a part of its body, it will split and create more. In that case, all I have to do, is crush the entire thing into a pile of shards. The problem is, I can¡¯t even use my right arm anymore, so I have to use the magnum with only one hand, making me unable to fire it consecutively. I hear a loud yell from the [Yeti] that Thoth is fighting, and the entire cavern suddenly begins to shake. I turn to see that it pulled off one of the pillars of ice that was placed in the room, and used it as a weapon against Thoth. Apparently, removing or destroying the pillars of ice causes the entire dungeon to shake. The [Frozen Vipers], unaffected by the shaking, makes their move and lunges at me, both of them coming from the front. I decided to forget about the magic restriction I set upon myself, and gather mana within me. Let¡¯s see, about 5,000 mana left, what spell can I cast before they kill me? Honestly, I think using magic is a completely unfair ability that ruins the fun, so I don¡¯t want to instantly kill them on the spot. Even if I¡¯m on the verge of death, I will not do something like killing them right on the spot without warning. Therefore, instead of using offensive magic, I decide to play around with my favorite spell; [Self Gravitation]. Obviously, it¡¯s a skill that allows me to change my own gravity. There¡¯s a lot of things I can do with this. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°¡­fuu¡­¡± I exhale out loud, and just as they¡¯re about to hit me, their speed drops back to normal. I decrease the force of gravity on me, and leap up. When I¡¯m high enough to nearly touch the ceiling, I increase the force of gravity on me heavily, and make a dive kick towards one of the two vipers below me. As I fall, I use the earth spell; [Stone Body]. The snake charges at me with it¡¯s mouth wide open, trying to eat me as I land. Diving straight into the snake¡¯s mouth, my leg makes contact with the inside of the snake and I pierce right through the front half of its body, shattering it into pieces. Just before I land, I revert my gravity back to normal so I don¡¯t kill myself by the force. I roll forward upon landing, and turn around, raising the magnum with my left arm. As the other half of its body falls, I fire at it and shatter it even further, bringing the snake¡¯s size to approximately 2 meters. The second snake rushes at me from the side and I¡¯m unable to dodge this time. It crashes into me from my right side hitting my broken arm, and smashes me through the wall, leading us into a different area. I nearly faint from the pain, but I was able to keep myself awake. The snake was right on top of me, and opens its mouth to try and swallow me. Immediately, I shove the barrel of the magnum into the viper¡¯s mouth before firing it. The head shatters apart, and I shove my hand through the gaping hole leading into its body, firing it again. The recoil smashes my left arm against the inside, but I still continue pulling the trigger, until the rest of the body is destroyed this way. Fortunately this time, my arm didn¡¯t break from the continuous force though it still hurts. ¡°Regional Announcement: [Yeti] has been slain. Rewards have been granted to the slayer.¡± Surprisingly, Thoth was able to defeat the [Hidden Boss] faster than I can defeat this [Dungeon Master]. Even though she had stats far lower than what her level should have, she was able to do such a thing. Her [Demon Magic] must be extremely powerful, if it makes up for her pathetic stats. And here I am, having the hardest time of my current life, still fighting a monster that¡¯s supposedly weaker than the one she killed. Sometimes, I wonder about how I was able to kill her in our previous lives. As I stand on top of the pile of ice shards from the [Frozen Viper], completely deprived of my mana. I didn¡¯t have any more left for firing the magnum. I hear a hissing sound from behind, and see the viper I wasn¡¯t able to finish off earlier. It lunges at me, mouth wide open, but when it reaches me, I grab the top part of its mouth while stepping on the lower part, and tear it apart with raw strength, destroying the head completely. I throw the rest of the body onto the ground and stomp on it over, and over, and over, and over. Until it was completely destroyed. ¡°Regional Announcement: [Frozen Viper] has been slain. Rewards have been granted to the slayer.¡± ¡°Frozen Viper has been defeated. 140,000 experience has been received. Received [Skillbook: Viper of Kazaric]. 3,017,963,500 needed until level 32. New title has been received: [Ice-Cold Predator].¡± I fall to my knees, gripping my right arm tightly. It really hurts, moving a shattered arm that much. I could feel the bone shards tearing the muscles apart, but I can¡¯t do anything about it. I don¡¯t have the mana to use healing magic right now, but as long as it¡¯s still attached, I can mend it later. It will take a lot of time, but I¡¯ll be able to fix it completely if I use the highest tier of light magic. ¡°Wow, you look completely messed up!¡± Thoth appears through the hole the snakey created earlier, and runs up to me. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t died yet! Just look at you! There¡¯s blood all over your body, and your right arm isn¡¯t even bending the right way! Are you okay!?¡± I sit down with my back against the wall, and lay my arms down to rest. I¡¯m probably going to die at this rate, so I ask Thoth to do something I didn¡¯t plan on doing for a while. ¡°¡­Thoth.¡± I say out loud. ¡°Yeah? What do you need me to do!? You¡¯re going to die if we don¡¯t get you help!¡± She begins to panic, afraid of seeing me die. How nice. ¡°¡­bandages.¡± Her expression freezes upon hearing this. She turns to face me, and a serious look appears on her face. ¡°There aren¡¯t any bandages to seal you again, so you¡¯ll have to return home like that, you know?¡± She explains. I nod to her words, indicating that I know what will happen. When I return home without these bandages, my parents will most likely overreact. That, I don¡¯t care about. What I care about, is the chance that someone may appraise me at any time. I don¡¯t know for what reason, but it¡¯s always a possibility. Some random person I don¡¯t know may want to appraise my strength from watching me, like that martial artist kid in my [Homeroom], who surprisingly still continued to challenge me after that day. Also, I¡¯ll need my stats shown when I complete a school term for the school to record. Something about seeing our rate of growths and determining where we belong. I¡¯ll reveal it when necessary, but doing so now will only make people either scared of me, or revere me as some sort of god, and that¡¯s definitely not a life I want to take. But right now, I¡¯m going to die otherwise, so I need these removed. ¡°¡­I can still do it myself, you know? Curse you, that is.¡± I stare at her for a second, before nodding again. This will definitely create some several complications in my future, but I¡¯ll risk it for not exposing myself for now. I want to see how far I can get with my abilities hidden, and gradually remove my restrictions such as this previous battle, where I just lifted the magic restriction. When it reaches to the point where I can no longer rely on simply these stats and defensive magic, I will uncurse myself slowly, a single percent every time. And I want to see how much power I have left over at the end of this life span. This is a personal challenge set for myself, and I want to see if I can live my new life without having to rely too much on these stats. ¡°¡­remove them.¡± I say to Thoth one last time. Finally, after two whole years, these bandages will now become undone. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Author¡¯s Note: Sorry to those who voted not to take her bandages off, but based on my random improvising, this is how it went. I literally don¡¯t have a set plot or story, I just improvise based on what¡¯s happening. So far it¡¯s working, but I¡¯m gonna screw up at one point and completely set everything off. XP I¡¯m gonna hafta rely on you readers to help me then. :) Questions & Answers Thread I¡¯ve compiled these questions from the comments, may have missed some, and if there are any more that you guys ask in the future, you can just ask straight in the chapter and I¡¯ll just take the time to answer it and copy it onto this thread. I also inputted some of my own answers to random questions to explain some concepts that some readers may not understand or know about the story. I made this just so readers with the same questions can get an answer without me receiving multiple posts of the same ones, and just to place them all in one place so anyone can find them easily. There ARE going to be spoilers for people who are behind and reading this, so be careful. Questions about the story itself and some of the world concepts: Spoiler : Q: What¡¯s the setting? A: If you can¡¯t tell right from chapter 1, it¡¯s basically a modern setting. Guns, cars, electricity, all those kinds of things exist. Q: What¡¯s to be expected of the story itself, genre wise? A: Well, the really early chapters had a kind of slice-of-life feel to it. It¡¯s currently taking a turn into the action-adventure I was planning this out to be, but most of it¡¯s just straight up story so far. As for comedy, I¡¯m terrible at that crap. I¡¯ll probably try insert some funny scenes, but don¡¯t expect anything hysterical. Q: How long do you plan on making the story? A: Pretty. Damn. Long. I¡¯ll say that. I mean, I¡¯ve already spent the first 16 chapters in her years before she even hits puberty, and it¡¯s quite the adventure. We¡¯ll see what happens in the next few years. Q: Is there going to be any romance in this story? A: I was considering Yuri, but now I''m just thinking if it would be better for Aria to become more ''feminine'' and fall in love with a male. Q: How do the guns in this world differ to the modern guns in ours? A: Instead of gunpowder, magic is used to fire these weapons, because they¡¯re more efficient and powerful that way. That doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re a dominant weapon that¡¯s easy to use, because the more powerful the gun, the more mana it takes. Along with that, because these weapons are very unstable and can malfunction at any time. Q: What kind of changes were made to the guns in this story? A: Well, the normal guns you¡¯d see in the real world. They¡¯re mostly the same, somewhat, just replacing the gunpowder with magic. Though, I did separate them into two primary categories; [Physical Guns] and [Ethereal Guns]. Physical Guns condenses and transforms the mana used into a bullet made of magic, and they are able to fire it like a normal gun in the real world. Ethereal Guns fire raw magic energy, which is used more often against spiritual and magical monsters, along with destroying magic barriers and such. It¡¯s not as effective against physical objects though, so using a [Physical Gun] is more common. Think of the [Ethereal Gun] as an ¡®anti-magic laser gun.¡¯ Questions about the characters: Spoiler : Q: What¡¯s the MC¡¯s personality? A: Prior to chapter 11, she is a shy/scared girl. Afterwards, she adapts the [Ice-Queen] persona. She speaks no more than 4 words at once, and mostly answers with actions. She¡¯s also heartless, willing to killing people without hesitation, although she hasn¡¯t done it in the story yet. That¡¯s her outer personality though. On the inside, she¡¯s a bit of an airhead, who thinks a bit too much. She has an amazing ability to memorize things, though, and her thought processing abilities is higher than anyone else¡¯s. It¡¯s the reason why she¡¯s able to learn magic so fast and utilize it effectively, but unfortunately, it doesn¡¯t help her personality of being an airhead. I think that¡¯s what makes her kinda cute though~ Though her inner personality does change in battle, where she completely focuses on survival, and the death of the enemy, no matter the price. If it means her survival, and/or the death of the enemies, she¡¯ll even break herself for it without any hesitation. Q: How much of her body do the bandages cover? (Question prior to Chapter 17) A: Like, everything. Like, the head, body, arms, legs and stuff. Excluding the slits for her eyes and mouth, she¡¯s pretty much completely wrapped in gauze bandages. Think of her like a child mummy. Q: What is Aria¡¯s appearance as of chapter 17? Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.A: She has the appearance of a 13 year old girl, standing at 1.4 meters tall. 4 feet 7 inches if you go by that. Her hair is a unique gradient color, light blue at the roots and turns silver as it becomes longer. Her eyes are a steel gradient color, something you can google if you don¡¯t know it. Her preferred clothing are boyish clothes, or whatever¡¯s comfortable. Q: When will the MC show her OP powers? A: If by OP you mean defeat someone else that¡¯s supposedly a powerful existence with near no effort, then maybe hundreds of chapter in the future. Questions about the storyline/plotline: Spoiler : Q: Why is Aria trying so hard to hide her powers? A: Right now, in the early years of her life, she wants to secure a future where she is able to travel freely as an adventurer without restriction. Also, she wants to challenge herself and see how much power she can hold back by the end of her lifetime, hoping to never be forced to fully uncurse herself. Q: Can¡¯t Aria uncurse herself any time? (Question Prior to Chapter 11) A: Yes, if she didn¡¯t have that ribbon. It takes a lot of mana to cast the magic needed to uncurse herself, and with the ribbon on, she doesn¡¯t have the mana needed to do so. Q: When Aria steals the gun in chapter 14, will anyone notice it? A: Yes. They will make a gun count, and notice that one is missing. Though they won¡¯t know who took it because Aria used quite a few extremely high tier magic to get it out. Q: What¡¯s with Thoth¡¯s crappy stats, and how is she able to handle fighting against high level monsters? A: Her stats are crappy because of a little ¡®talent¡¯ I gave her that will be revealed in the future. She is able to fight against high level monsters due to her magic. What? Just magic allows her to do that? Of course it can. Magic is a power that makes the weak strong, and it¡¯s an overpowered skill in general. Thoth knows all [Demon Magic], and can use most of her magic with the stats she has now. This allows her to fight on par with even a [Hidden Boss] from the Kazaric Ravines, which is shown in Side Story 2. Q: Why doesn¡¯t Aria just curse herself via equipment like rings, bracelets and other accessories? A: Because equipment can easily be broke and/or removed, thus undoing the seal on her. If done by accident, she will accidentally leak mana on the spot due to the unexpected surge, and if done in the middle of combat, her strength and speed will skyrocket on the spot, revealing her true power. Q: When confronted with these situations at school, why doesn¡¯t she inform anyone of them? A: Because this school is her only chance to secure a future as an adventurer with her parent¡¯s support. If problems arise during her early years, her parents are guaranteed to want to take back their decision due to their personality. Q: As of Chapter 11, didn¡¯t Aria say that she wouldn¡¯t care about the attention given to her by others? Then why is she still trying to avoid it at chapter 18-20? A: Attention is not what she fears. Exposure is. She doesn¡¯t want her powers being exposed during the time she spends in [Adventurer¡¯s School], and she believes that attracting attention will make things harder for her. Q: In chapter 24, why does Aria have a harder time fighting Thoth than during the Final Battle? A: Her main assets in the final battle were [Phantasm], [Arcane Strike] and [Echo Strike]. With only 1% of her power, her HP is [16,675] and her mana is [16,025]. Her teleport took approximately 30% of both her HP and MP, bringing them to about [11,500] HP and [11,200] MP. These are random estimates, so they¡¯re not exact. Now, during her bloodbath, she used a lot of mana to fire the [BLC-90], and considering that most of her 100+ kills were with the gun, she didn¡¯t have a huge mana pool at the end. Because of this, she couldn¡¯t use [Arcane Strike] nor [Echo Strike] very efficiently, and she could only summon one [Phantasm] or else she¡¯ll just commit suicide trying to create more. Her main godlike magic wasn¡¯t available for her to use, so it was more difficult for her to win when sealed. TL;DR: She can¡¯t use [Phantasm], [Echo Strike] or [Arcane Strike]. So yeah, if you guys have any other questions, just ask in this thread or just post it after reading a chapter in the replies area. No need to do all the work of going all the way to this thread to post a question. I¡¯ll copy paste it here myself. Thanks for reading! Side Story 2: The Partners Side Side Story 2: The Partner¡¯s Side ¡°Let¡¯s see, what can I use here for tomorrow?¡± I look through several racks of weapons and armor, currently being stored in the armory of [Atalin¡¯s Royal Academy]. How did I get inside? Well first, I disabled the campus cameras by using [Dark Magic], then I head to the back of the building. Using demon magic, I cut a small hole into the wall, and throw a [Spectral Dagger] through it. This way, I can just enter freely and take whatever I need. Obviously, I¡¯m doing this all during the night, because it¡¯s easier that way. Tomorrow, I¡¯m going to the [Kazaric Ravines] with Aria, and I¡¯m very excited to enter there with her. Albeit slowly, my stats have been going up, and they¡¯re currently an eyesore to look at. I know the cause for this, because it also occurred in my previous life as a Demon. It¡¯ll fix itself eventually, but for now, I have to bear with these terrible numbers. At least I¡¯m finally able to usesome of my [Demon Magic] again, so I believe I¡¯ll be able to handle myself in the dungeon as long as I don¡¯t overuse it. Right now, I¡¯m trying to find armor and weapons that can help give me an edge in the dungeon. I believe it¡¯s supposed to be a huge ravine of ice monsters, that has around 15 floors to it. So I need armor that¡¯s both light and ice resistant, so I don¡¯t take as much damage from the monsters and I don¡¯t get tired from advancing through the dungeon. I head into the back of the armory, where the more modern weapons and armor are placed, and search through using my [Eyes of Magic Perception] to appraise them. Although I can¡¯t find any armor that¡¯s specifically ice resistant, I find something that is both light and strong. Modern armor with defensive properties much stronger than the chainmail in my previous life. There were many different sizes for the armor, because it was made for students in the school to use for practice and spars. I pick one that fits my size, and searched through the armory for a weapon I could use. I find an orange spear that¡¯s been enchanted with fire magic, and decide to use that. A spear is my weapon of preference, so this basically suited me. Light armor, and a spear. I¡¯m now prepared to enter the dungeon with Aria, so I leave the armory through the shadow I created earlier and left the campus. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Oh my god! Where did you get that!?¡± I yell out loud upon seeing Aria. In her hands, was a device that I¡¯ve only heard about and haven¡¯t seen in person. A new weapon developed by modern technology, the [Magic Gun]. ¡°I want one! I want one! Hey, where did you steal that? I¡¯m going to get one too!¡± I yell in an excited manner. It looked really cool, I seriously wanted one for myself. ¡°¡­castle.¡± She replies as she points towards that direction. My excitement immediately dies down, and I feel a slight bit of despair. There was no way I¡¯d simply break into a place like that. ¡°¡­school?¡± Aria asks if I can obtain these weapons from school. I shake my head to this. ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t do that. Their armory is in their firing range, a place I don¡¯t have access to and can¡¯t sneak into.¡± The modern weapons in the regular armory only had spears and swords of modern designs and such. No [Magic Guns] for me to use in there. After our short talk, we began heading towards the direction of the [Kazaric Ravines], which was in the opposite direction of the [Forest of Fire]. As we go there, I ask her about the cloak she was wearing. I noticed it earlier, but I was too curious about the weapon that I forgot about it. There¡¯s no way that can be the armor she¡¯s planning to use against the monsters. It¡¯ll be torn in a matter of seconds. ¡°By the way, what¡¯s with that cloak?¡± I ask. ¡°¡­surprise.¡± Is the answer I get. What a cheeky little girl, keeping little secrets and surprises from me. I glare at her for now, but I¡¯ll be patient and wait. When the entrance of the dungeon came in sight, we stopped immediately. There were guards at the front of the dungeon, and a large group of adventurers just sitting out there for some reason. Just by looking at them, it was obvious that they were high class veterans. Why were there so many of them here, I had no idea. It does give me an omen of something dangerous to come, but I ignore the feeling and decide to just enter anyway. I explained to Aria about my [Spectral Dagger], and ask her to infiltrate the dungeon to set up the two shadows. She accepts my plan, and uses an invisibility spell of an incredibly high tier. I tried activating my [Eyes of Magic Perception], but I couldn¡¯t even see a trace of her mana after going invisible. I knew she had a large range of magic abilities from our final battle, but it¡¯s still amazing to see and be reminded of that. After about 15 minutes passed, with the first shadow placed on a rock next to me, a rock suddenly comes through and hits me right between the eyes. After I recover from the surprise of such a random thing happening, I become irritated and throw the rock back through at high speed. I¡¯m pretty sure I asked her to put her hand through for confirmation, but did she forget already? I step through the shadow and entered through into the other side. The other side, where I fell straight into the icy ground face first. ¡°¡­Aria, why is the shadow on the ceiling instead of a wall, like I told you?¡± I stand up, and look at her with a smile on my face. There was no happy feelings in this smile. After about 5 seconds, she raised her hand to her temple, tilts her head, and says; ¡°¡­teehee?¡± Right after, I¡¯m hanging her off a ledge by the leg, threatening to drop her down the ravine. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C After that scene, I sigh to myself and just decide to forget it. I want to start exploring this dungeon, so the both of us began advancing through the first floor. After a few minutes, we reach an area that has several different tunnels leading to different areas. I¡¯m the cautious type when it comes to things like this, because any of them could be a potential death trap, and I don¡¯t exactly want either of us to die this early in our new lives. I still wanted to do stuff with Aria. After all, I do enjoy spending my time with her. ¡°Okay, for now, we need to determine which tunnel is safe to take and which isn¡¯t, so I¡¯ll leave a [Spectral Dagger] here and¨C¡° I try to explain a safe plan to Aria, when she suddenly interrupts me. ¡°Too long.¡± Immediately after, she walks randomly through one of the tunnels. ¡°Wait, wait, wait, you can¡¯t just do that! Aria! Get back here, we can¡¯t risk something like this!¡± She ignores me completely though and keeps walking through. She¡¯s not listening to me at all, and there¡¯s no way I can convince her, so I just give up on the spot. ¡°Oh geez, fine! Wait up for me!¡± I sprint into the tunnel and follow her from behind. The tunnel we enter branches into several more paths, and again, she randomly walks through one. I don¡¯t argue this time, and just follow her. The tunnel leads into an obviously man-made room, that looked way off. "This room is way too suspicious. Let''s just leave before¨C" My words are cut off again, as the entire room shakes wildly. The walls of the room begin shifting, and cracks emerge in them. A light fills the room, surrounding us, and I can feel mana shifting all around us. The shaking becomes even more wilder than before, and I can barely stay on my feet. Then, it comes to a sudden stop. When the light around us fades away, the area around us is completely different from the room we were just in. ¡°I think we just entered a teleportation trap that sent us to a different part of the ravine.¡± I say out loud. The temperature was much colder than before, but the area still had the cave-like appearance to it. Right after I say that, though, the growls of several monsters sudden resound through the cave. ¡°Aria, this is all your fault, I¡¯m definitely going to get you back for this when we get out of here!¡± I yell at her as I raise the spear and take a stance. ¡°¡­sorry.¡± She whispers quietly, but I really didn''t need that apology now. The both of us try to locate where they¡¯re coming from, but the continuous echoes makes that impossible. The lights provided by the crystals in the cave allowed us to see their shadows through the ice walls, so we were able to figure out where they were coming from. ¡°¡­eighteen¡­minimum¡­¡± Aria tells me. ¡°Then we¡¯ll make it a contest to see who slays the most.¡± I reply. A smile emerges on my face, and I¡¯m ready to fight. There¡¯s probably more monsters than what Aria stated, but I don¡¯t care. It¡¯s been awhile since I¡¯ve fought a large group like this, so it excited me a bit. I aim my spear at the nearest shadow, and prepare to attack whatever emerges. I hear ice behind me breaking, so it seems like Aria¡¯s being attacked first. This leads to a several of these monsters to do the same, and many of them begin smashing straight through the wall of ice to go get us. I sprint towards the first one that jumps through, which was a monster with oversized arms, and stab at its chest while it was still in mid air, killing it before it lands. No matter the difference in stats, if I hit the heart of my opponent, they die without an exception. I immediately turn behind me, sensing the presence of a fast monster, and spun my spear around to slice it. It was some sort of ice feline, which moved at an extremely fast speed. I was slower and weaker in every way, so my original attack missed, and it tried to attack me with that opening. Although I was inferior in stats, with a flick of my wrist, I stop the swing of my spear immediately and pulled it back before it got to me, and stabbed it right through its mouth. [Reverse Force], a spell that allows me to ¡®store¡¯ the momentum of any force and use it after to increase the speed of any movement. In this case, I was able to store the force of swinging the spear, and use it to pull it back to counter the ice feline. The best part of this ability was that it¡¯s a passive, innate ability that does not have any cost to use. Although these monsters were stronger than me in every way, combining my spear prowess with [Reverse Force], I can easily fight back against them and kill them as long as I aim for their weakest points. After killing the ice feline, a group of large rats tried to swarm me, but I completely decimate them with several high speed swings and thrusts before they even touch me. As the monsters continue throwing their bodies at me one by one, I dance with the spear to tear them apart. Soon enough, the entire horde of monsters falls victim to my spear, and I¡¯m surrounded by a large pile of corpses. ¡°Battle has ended. Strongarms x 4 has been defeated. 44,000 experience has been received. Kazaric¡¯s Felines x 7 has been defeated. 63,000 experience has been received. Rat of Madness x 5 has been defeated. 80,000 experience has been received. Winter Bats x 1 has been defeated. 5,000 experience has been received. Snow Bunnyfly x 2 has been defeated. 14,400 experience has been received. Level has been increased to 30. Level has been increased to 31. Level has been increased to 32. 66,200 experience needed until level 33.¡± Wow, my experience just skyrocketed. I immediately obtained three levels from defeating all those monsters, which was a massive increase compared to the monsters in the [Forest of Fire]. I turn to see if Aria¡¯s done yet, and find that her body was completely engulfed in blue fire. It didn¡¯t affect her bandages though, so it was only the cloak that was lit on fire. ¡°Holy crap, your entire body¡¯s on fire! That¡¯s so damn cool!¡± I immediately shout in awe, and run up to her. ¡°Why do you have all these cool things? Where did you get this cape!?¡± ¡°¡­[Inferno Bear]¡­¡± Immediately after hearing this, again, despair fills me, and I immediately crouch in the closest corner I can find and sulk. ¡°Why don¡¯t I ever get these things. Why can¡¯t I be this lucky. I want to hunt [Hidden Bosses] and get items too.¡± I mutter to myself. After a minute or so I recovered and said. ¡°Whatever. Let¡¯s just try to find a way out now, I don¡¯t want to be stuck here all day.¡± I regain myself immediately, and stand up, about to search for the way out of this ravine. Suddenly, an announcement from the system came up that immediately raised my mood and got me excited. ¡°Regional Announcement: Conditions for [Kazaric Ravine Hidden Boss] has been fulfilled. Summoning [Yeti] in the vicinity.¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. It seems like my muttering and complaints worked, I¡¯m given a [Hidden Boss] to kill! That means, cool stuff for me too! As I celebrate in my mind, a loud roar resounds through the cave, and a giant, humanoid monster jumps straight through the wall of ice like those [Strongarms] earlier. It was completely covered in white fur, and looked like it could crush one of the those strong arms like a tin can. Excited to fight the thing, I raised my spear and prepared myself, but then another announcement came up. ¡°Regional Announcement: Timer for [Dungeon Master Revival] has finished. Summoning [Frozen Viper] in the vicinity.¡± A flash of light comes from the center of the area we¡¯re in, and my excitement now turns into regret. A large snake of ice is now in the center of the room, which is apparently the [Dungeon Master]. [System], why are you doing this? I know I asked for a [Hidden Boss], but this is now a death trap. Please, at least let us get out of this alive, and I won¡¯t ask for such a thing again. Well, now that I think about it, the [Dungeon Master] is probably why all those Adventurers were waiting outside the dungeon. They knew it was going to be a year since the Boss¡¯ death, so they¡¯ve prepared a large group to take the monster down, but unfortunately for us, we¡¯re currently in the same room as the thing with the [Hidden Boss]. The [Frozen Viper] on one side, the [Yeti] on the other. Well, whatever. At this point, we can¡¯t do anything but just kill these two monsters. I put a smile on my face, feeling my blood getting excited. It¡¯s a situation where the enemy is an existence worthy of fighting with all I got. Something I haven¡¯t felt since the final battle between Aria and I. ¡°So, [Hero], take your pick. The snake, or the furry?¡± I ask her. ¡°¡­[Yeti].¡± She tells me. ¡°Well screw you, you¡¯re taking the viper. You got a flaming cloak anyway. Let me have the prize this time.¡± I immediately reject her choice. I want cool stuff too, and she¡¯s trying to hog it by killing the big guys. This time, I¡¯m going to destroy the [Hidden Boss] on my own, and get something equally cool to her cloak. She doesn¡¯t argue to my rejection, and turns towards the direction of the snake. I turn to face the [Yeti], which roars at me loudly, while the snake behind me hisses at Aria. I had no idea how it did that without any vocal chords, but it did it anyway. As if in sync, the [Hero] and I say the same, provoking words to the monsters that starts our own, separate battles. ¡°¡°¡­bring it on!¡±¡± ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Right after saying that, the [Yeti] charges at me with its massive, 4 meter body, and I sprint right at it. It swings its massive left arm at me, and I leap over it, and grab onto the fur of the monster. As it tries to shake me off, I let go when it lifts its arm above its head, and aim my spear straight for the head. I thrust the spear towards it and a lance of darkness emerges from it, hitting the head straight on. It didn¡¯t pierce through the skull, but it did do some damage to it, which was very fortunate for me. It meant that I was at least able to harm the beast, despite the massive difference in stats between us. I fall behind the [Yeti], and roll on the ground as I land. I turn around as fast as I could to prepare my next move, but it has already recovered from my attack with its hand right above me, about to squash me like a bug. I leap to the right as fast as I can, barely dodging the hand that smashes the area I was just standing in. It was stuck for a second, and I used that short opening to try and stab the [Yeti]¡¯s elbow with all my might. It pierces through the skin easily, but the bone was too hard to break through, so I pull back immediately, and jump away. The [Yeti] yells out in pain and anger as I move away, and buries its hands into the ground. It lifts a large block of ice from the ground, and throws it right at me. I easily dodge the projectile, but right behind the thrown ice, was the [Yeti] swinging its fist towards me while running to me, using the block of ice as cover to hide itself. Instantly, I throw two [Spectral Daggers], one below me and at the ground right behind the [Yeti]. The daggers lands just before the fist reaches me, and I fall into the shadow, teleporting to the backside of the monster. I slash my spear along the spinal area of the monster, and I can feel the bone, but I couldn¡¯t cut through it. It roars out in pain again, and I back off. It turns around and swings its fist at me again, and this time I decide to take it head on with the help of [Demon Magic]. I enchant my body with a spell called [Black Skeleton], which increases my body strength by 10 fold. I slash at the fist with my spear, and the impact of the two forces hitting can be heard. My strength was greater though, the slash causing the [Yeti]¡¯s arm to recoil back. I swing at the knees of the [Yeti], and try to break them with my strength, but as usual, I can only pierce the skin. I pull away and the [Yeti] raises its arm and swings it down right on top of me. I stab at it with my spear, and the impact of the two forces colliding can be heard again, but the monster¡¯s strength was greater than mine this time due to the momentum it gathered from gravity. I¡¯m forced onto my knees temporarily, but then I was finally able to push back against the hand, and with my great strength, I manage to push away the hand and force the [Yeti] back. As the [Yeti] is forced back by my strength, I try to break the same knee again, but still to no avail. It seems like no matter what, I can¡¯t break or pierce through its bones, so all I could do at this point is to just cut it apart in several different areas, in an attempt to make it bleed out. I can also try to aim for its stomach and eyes, lethal areas to strike without any bone in the way. As I try to think about how to take it down, the [Yeti] suddenly grabs the ice pillar next to it, and snaps it off completely. Upon doing so, the entire ravine begins shaking, just like before, causing my balance to become unstable. The [Yeti] wasn¡¯t affected by the shaking, and swung the pillar of ice at me. I use one of my spells on it, [Shadow Ruin], which weakened the pillar¡¯s structure. I slash at it right after, and the entire pillar of ice shatters to pieces. Because the floor was still shaking as I did that, I fall over onto the ground, and the shards of ice falls onto me. Covering my head with my arms, the ice fails to cut through the armor I¡¯m wearing, and I come out of it unharmed. When the shaking finally stops, I look up to see the [Yeti] about to stomp on me. This guy just seriously wants me to die by being smashed, it seems. I roll to my right, right into the shadow I created earlier, and return to my previous position. Right now, I¡¯m right behind the [Yeti], and I take a low stance, waiting for it to turn around. When it realizes that I¡¯m not under its foot, I swing my spear at its stomach before it sees me, cutting it open. As the [Yeti] yells out, I take a few steps back, lift the spear above my head, and throw it right at the monster¡¯s face. The spear pierces deep in its right eye, to the point where you can barely see the blunt end of the spear emerging from its eye socket. It still doesn¡¯t fall, and actually grabs at the spear in its eye and pulls it out. While the [Yeti]¡¯s distracted with something like this, it¡¯s my final chance to kill it because I was going to run out of mana soon from all the spells I¡¯m using. I decide it¡¯s time to get bloody, and sprint up to the [Yeti]¡¯s earlier cutted up stomach. I thrust my hand right into the wound I made earlier in its stomach, and grab at whatever I could. I pull with all my might, and tear out some of the [Yeti]¡¯s inner organs out of its stomach. The [Yeti] yells out in agony, and falls to its knees, still not dead yet. It doesn¡¯t try to attack me though, probably because it¡¯s in too much pain to move. I run around to its back, and leap up onto it. The cut I made on its spinal earlier was still there, and like before, I thrust my hand straight into it, and grip at the spinal cord of the monster. I pull at it with my high strength, and the monster begins shaking its body like crazy, and stands up. It tries to reach at me behind its back, but it wasn¡¯t able to. I continue pulling it with all my strength, and I can hear snapping sounds from the body. Finally, after about 20 seconds of pulling, I forcefully snap off a small part of its spine, but that was enough to cause its lower body to stop working. The spine is a very important part of the body, after all. It connects all the parts to the brain and without it, parts of the body will no longer function properly. After pulling this out, I finally killed the monster, and the voice of the system confirms it. ¡°Regional Announcement: [Yeti] has been slain. Rewards have been granted to the slayer.¡± ¡°Yeti has been defeated. 200,000 experience has been received. Received [Armlet of Black Ice]. Level has been increased to 33. Level has been increased to 34. 78,200 experience until level 35. New title has been received: [Slayer of Hunters].¡± I stand victorious atop the corpse of the [Yeti], with blood dripping from my hands and armor. I wipe it off on the fur of the corpse under me, not wanting to have such a mess on me. After wiping off most of the blood, I look over to where Aria was supposed to be, but I don¡¯t see her anywhere. There was a large hole in the wall next to what seems to be a gate leading into this part of the caverns. Anxiety fills my heart for a second, until the [System]¡¯s message appeared. ¡°Regional Announcement: [Frozen Viper] has been slain. Rewards have been granted to the slayer.¡± Immediately after hearing this, a feeling of relief came over me. That should mean that Aria was still alive, and she won the battle. I kind of doubt that group would have arrived all the way down here by now, so there was no other party that was able to take it down. I run to the hole near the gate, and look through it. I see Aria kneeling over a large pile of ice shards, gripping her right arm tightly. ¡°Wow, you look completely messed up!¡± I say as I step through the hole in the wall, and run up to her. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t died yet! Just look at you! There¡¯s blood all over your body, and your right arm isn¡¯t even bending the right way! Are you okay!?¡± At first, I try to make a joke about her wounds, before I finally realize that they were actually extremely serious. There was blood soaking through her bandages, her right arm looked completely shattered, and the ice shards she¡¯s kneeling on isn¡¯t making her situation any better. She stands up, and walks to the nearest wall, sitting down with her back against it and lets go of her right arm. She remained like that for a while, I was really starting to get worried. ¡°¡­Thoth.¡± She suddenly says. ¡°Yeah? What do you need me to do!? You¡¯re going to die if we don¡¯t get you help!¡± I was panicking, unable to figure out what to do. I have no healing magic, we didn¡¯t bring any potions and such because we thought it was unnecessary. Now I¡¯m really regretting, and I vow to never make such a stupid mistake ever again. ¡°¡­bandages.¡± Immediately, I freeze upon hearing this. According to what she told me, those things haven¡¯t been removed for two years, and she wasn¡¯t planning on removing them soon. Hearing her say something like this, does she want me to remove it? It was an extremely serious matter, because it would reveal her abilities to the world and cause a lot of complications for her life in the future. ¡°There aren¡¯t any bandages to seal you again, so you¡¯ll have to return home like that, you know?¡± I explain. She nods, showing that she understands the consequences of these actions. ¡°¡­I can still do it myself, you know? Curse you, that is.¡± I remind her of this, and she looks at me for a second, before nodding a second time. It was an obvious choice. After all, she doesn¡¯t care about the fact that her appearance is known, but more about that her stats may be revealed. ¡°¡­remove them.¡± She says to me one last time, and this time, I nod and begin the process of uncursing them myself. After two whole years, her appearance will be known by the world again. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Sorry for delaying Aria''s bandage removal, but I''ll be uploading chapter 17 shortly after this. It depends on how fast Editor-san works on it, so yeah. Please be patient! Chapter 17: The New Curse Chapter 17: The New Curse ¡°¡­they¡¯re removed.¡± Thoth says to me after staring at my body for a while. She just finished uncursing the bandages that I was wearing for the past two years of my life. Just like the ribbon, the bandages burnt away without a trace after having the curse removed. Now, I¡¯m just laying here in the cold, dim cave completely nude. My clothes had to be taken off in order to unwrap the bandages off of me. I can¡¯t see my appearance yet, but I wasn¡¯t worried about that. I can feel my original ocean of mana being released, and I could finally use magic again. Immediately, I cast the most powerful healing spell I knew; [Angel¡¯s Embrace]. A golden light covers my body, and most of my wounds began healing at a fast rate. The cuts on my body created by the shards of ice have already mended themselves, without leaving any scars behind. The damage to my left arm was also mended, but my right arm was still shattered. Despite this spell being the most powerful healing magic in my arsenal, it will still take time for it to heal a bone that¡¯s been broken into pieces. The golden light remains working on my arm, disappearing from the rest of my body. I look at Thoth, who was just staring at me with a red cheeks. I tilt my head, which is my form of asking her what¡¯s wrong without speaking. For some reason, she doesn¡¯t reply even though she¡¯s looking right at my face. ¡°¡­Thoth?¡± My voice startled her for a second, but she regained herself immediately. ¡°Ah, yes, Aria, you¡¯re fine now, right?¡± I point at my right arm, which still had the golden light on it, and shook my head. ¡°We¡¯ll wait then. How long will that take?¡± ¡°¡­30 minutes¡­¡± I say to her. ¡°I see! Then, in that case, let¡¯s start working on your new curse! Can you move from there?¡± I nod to her question, and she lays down my cloak on the cold ground and tells me to lay on it. ¡°Okay then, just lay down on your back here. I¡¯m going to need to draw several demonic marks on your body.¡± I follow her instructions, but before she started, I wanted to confirm something. ¡°...curse¡­what¡­kind?¡± I ask. ¡°It¡¯s a demonic curse that was made specifically for me when I went to spar with the lower level demons. The curse will be in a design of a wyvern on your back, made up of 100 marks. Each mark will be 1% of your status, and the complete seal will make every number in your status as 1. It¡¯s a very weak curse, you can unseal your power by putting a single point of mana into one of the marks, and you¡¯ll unseal 1% of your power. You can also do the reverse and reseal yourself if needed.¡± She explains to me quickly. She sits on my lower back, ready to start. Then, she begins the cursing process. As she engraves the markings into my back, an intense feeling of heat burns into the middle of my back. I nearly let out a cry, but I grit my teeth and held it back. I heard that having a demonic curse engraved into you is similar to torture, and this was supposedly a weak curse. I can¡¯t imagine having a curse stronger than this being engraved into the body, because this alone felt worst than any wound I¡¯ve suffered before. The fire continues to burn into my back as Thoth continues drawing the curse onto my back, and it took the whole 30 minutes to finally finish engraving the 100 marks into me. She gets off of me, and helps me sit up. The golden light on my right arm disappeared, and I can move it again. After about a minute of resting, the pain fades away and I¡¯m able to move around properly again. I stand on my two feet, and face Thoth. ¡°¡­thank you.¡± I say to her. ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t thank me. I just made you go through hell, didn¡¯t I?¡± I shake my head to this, even though it was true that I felt like I went through hell. ¡°¡­thank you.¡± I repeat. There wasn¡¯t really anything else I could say, but it was the only thing I really wanted to say. To show my sincere feelings, I give her a smile, something I¡¯ve only shown to him in my previous life. Her cheeks turned red again, just like earlier. It was a nice reaction to see from the normally over-excited Thoth. ¡°Just shut up and put your clothes on, idiot. Aren¡¯t you getting cold like that?¡± She says as she walks away. I quickly do so and see my reflection on some of the ice, although distorted. My hair grew out past my waist, and the color changed slightly. It had a gradient look to it, sky blue from the roots of my hair to silver at the ends of it. My eyes still had the steel-gradient color to it, a trait neither of my parents had, so they were confused when they saw it. I¡¯m supposed to be 140 centimeters tall right now, but I can see that I grew a bit more, nearly hitting 145. I was way too tall for an 8 years old, I can only imagine my height when I become a teenager. After taking the time to confirm my appearance, I run after Thoth, who was far ahead of me. We walk side by side with each other, like two young girls taking a stroll through a cave. A cave full of monsters that wants to tear you apart. I still found this sort of thing nice though, just the two of us together... ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Now that I think about it, how are you going to explain the markings on your back to your parents when they see it?¡± Thoth asks. ¡°¡­have¡­excuse¡­¡± I reply. I can already imagine the scenario going something like this: ¡°Aria, what¡¯s with these tattoos on your back!?¡± My mom would yell out loud. ¡°¡­blessing marks.¡± Would be my reply ¡°Oh my goodness! Aren¡¯t they beautiful, dear? This is the sign of the [System] blessing our child!¡± My mom would say to my dad, who would be nodding in agreement. Anyway, Thoth and I were currently in the 13th floor, trying to find a way out of the ravine. Like Thoth instructed me to do, I pour a point of mana into the markings in my back, and I had one percent of my power active. Although we didn¡¯t have much mana remaining, our health was in the safe zone, and we still had stamina to go through the dungeon. We kill the [Floor Bosses] on our way up, which were far weaker than the [Dungeon Master] and [Hidden Boss], which was to be expected. Along with that, we were able to fight together, and I¡¯d say that the both of us together is a force to be reckoned with. The [Floor Boss] for the 14th floor was a giant ice golem and the [Floor Boss] for the 13th floor was a [Strongarm] except it actually had oversized legs as well. It was called the [Distorted Retard], which caused Thoth to just laugh while I killed the monster. I had no idea that the [System] would have such a sense of humor. The crystal golem was known as the [Ice Guardian], and it stood taller than the [Yeti] we saw earlier. When we fought it, I focused on disabling its movements while Thoth tried to destroy its core. Using the magnum to destroy one of its legs, I strike at the other one with all my strength. As I distract it and try to keep it still, Thoth used that chance to thrust the spear into its chest and pierce the core, destroying it instantly. Like the [Dungeon Masters] and [Hidden Bosses], these monsters gave items from the [System] upon being slain, but of inferior quality. From the golem, we got an [Ice Core], despite Thoth just destroying it. The [Distorted Retard] gave us a shield called the [Shield of Retarding]. This caused Thoth to laugh for a solid 3 minutes before we began moving again. We finally find the spiral staircase made of ice, leading up to the 12th floor. We prepare to kill whatever monster at the top of the stairs, but then we immediately stop as soon as we took the first step. ¡°¡­they¡¯re here.¡± I say. ¡°Which choice did we pick again?¡± Thoth asks. Earlier, we were discussing on how to get by the adventurers, because we were sure to encounter them on the way out. We brought it down to three options; Option one: Hide as they come by. This is the safest one and the option with the least amount of risk, no blood is shed. There is a possibility that they will have a mage with a perception ability high enough to detect us though. Option two: Sprint right past them, knock out anyone in our way. I use illusion magic to change my appearance, and give Thoth the cloak to hide her body. She uses [Dark Magic] on top of the cloak so they can¡¯t see her appearance under it. Option three: We talk to them, with our disguises. Depending on how it goes, we either get a pass through, or we fight them with the disguise on. These adventurers are most likely a group of A-ranks, maybe even a few S-ranks. It¡¯s what was necessary to kill a [Dungeon Master] like that. I may need 2% of my power to fight. Try to knock them out as the priority. Maim them if needed. Kill if necessary. The most dangerous and bloody option. ¡°¡­choice three.¡± I say to her. Yes, we picked the most dangerous choice. Why? Because we felt like it. Honestly, it¡¯s a simple matter to just get by them. I had my invisibility, and Thoth had her [Spectral Daggers], but we¡¯re still going with this. We¡¯re not kind souls that want to avoid conflict, we¡¯re people who kills others if they¡¯re in the way of our goal. That¡¯s the reason why the [Demon Lord] and I fought each other in our previous life. I killed him in my search of an exciting life, and he killed me because I was going to end the war. Now, this group was in the way of us leaving the dungeon. We walk up the stairs, and I give my cloak to Thoth. I put another point of mana into the markings on my back, and I can feel my power doubling. My mana wasn¡¯t in a miserable state anymore, so I was able to use [Light Magic] to change my appearance. Thoth uses her magic to blur her appearance, like a shadow under the cloak. We reach the top of the stairs, and enter the [Floor Boss]¡¯s room. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Upon entering, we hear the cry of the [Floor Boss], which was a giant version of the [Winter Bat]. It was surrounded by the entire group of adventurers, the same one we saw at the entrance of the dungeon. The monster was just killed right before we entered, and the one who slew the beast was right on top of its carcass. It was a man who had the appearance of royalty, with short, blond hair and light blue eyes. A handsome face, and a sturdy build. A prince-like adventurer. He steps off the bat and notices us standing by the stairs to the 13th floor. He was the first to speak. ¡°You two, who are you and how did you get into this dungeon?¡± He asked. ¡°¡­walked in.¡± I reply with a deep voice. Right now, my disguise was a young man with dark blue hair, around his mid 20s. It was the reason why I was the one talking, because Thoth couldn¡¯t change her voice. ¡°We¡¯ve been here since daybreak, there¡¯s no way you could have just walked by us and into the dungeon.¡± He immediately states, ruining my excuse immediately. ¡°¡­didn¡¯t work.¡± I whisper to Thoth. ¡°You¡¯re seriously stupid, aren¡¯t you? How the hell is someone like you even an Archmage? I swear, you have absolutely no common sense inside of you.¡± I¡¯m being scolded. I feel like crying to myself in the corner because of Thoth¡¯s words. Whatever, let¡¯s try to find another excuse. I tilt my head, thinking about what I should say, when the man in front of us spoke again. ¡°Were you the ones who slew the [Dungeon Master] and the [Hidden Boss]?¡± He went straight to the point didn¡¯t he? ¡°¡­maybe?¡± I say. Honestly, I didn¡¯t know how to reply in a situation like this. Should I be honest? ¡°Why are you saying that as a question? It¡¯s either, you killed them, or you didn¡¯t. Which. One. Is. It?¡± It was clear that he was becoming irritated by the conversation. I decide to try and deny it. ¡°¡­no?¡± It ended up as a question again. Damn it, I really need to learn how to speak to others properly. Clearly this isn¡¯t working, and I can see Thoth in the corner of my eye becoming irritated at this exchange as well. ¡°So you two did defeat the monsters. I demand of you, to give me the items dropped by the [Sys¨C¡± I was about to release my [Aura of the Heartless] if he were to show hostility, but his words were immediately cut off by a punch to his face. ¡°You idiot! You can¡¯t demand something like that! Are you stupid or something!? Have you not learnt anything from my lessons of being an adventurer!?¡± A woman with apple red hair came out of nowhere, and began scolding him. Was she his teacher or something? ¡°But, wasn¡¯t the reason we came here for¨C¡± His words are cut off again by the woman¡¯s scolding. ¡°Of course we came here for the skillbook, but we can¡¯t just steal the rewards of another adventurer¡¯s hard work! Besides, why are you asking for the [Hidden Boss]¡¯s item as well!?¡± I was enjoying this scene. Go teacher! You¡¯re the best! The scolding continues for a while, before she finally gets him to apologize to us. She apologizes as well, even though she¡¯s done nothing wrong. The group lets Thoth and I pass, some of the members glaring at us, most likely because they¡¯re not happy that we just took their objective from them. We were able to leave peacefully, without any bloodshed. After about an hour of walking, we remove our disguises and my cloak is given back. ¡°Aria, you¡¯re an airhead, aren¡¯t you? Not only that, but you seriously have no social capabilities. Did you even have friends in your previous life? I bet you didn¡¯t even talk with your parents that much, did you?¡± Thoth criticizes me harshly, clearly still irritated from my exchange with the man. ¡°¡­sorry.¡± I say with a saddened look on my face. ¡°¡­forget it. It¡¯s fine, we still got out. C¡¯mon don¡¯t look like that. Although you nearly died, we got a bunch of things out of this, didn¡¯t we?¡± Thoth brings my mood back up, and I nod to her words. Eventually, we leave the dungeon and by the time we returned to the city, it was nightfall. We went our separate ways after exchanging a goodbye, and I head straight home this time. I received many strange looks on my way there, much more people staring at me than when I was covered in bandages. It made me feel nervous, but I ignored it. Upon reaching the gate of my house, I resolve myself before walking up to the door and ringing the bell. About half a minute after, my mother opens the door. ¡°Welcome back Aria, how was your¨C¡± She immediately freezes upon seeing me. ¡°¡­hi mommy?¡± I say as I tilt my head. This is what I was told to do by Thoth, but I think I may be doing it wrong. I don¡¯t even know what it¡¯s supposed to do, but I did it anyway. Immediately, my mother squeals and hugs me in her arms, carrying me insides to the house while kicking the door shut. She spins me around in the hallway, and embraces me tightly. ¡°Hana, what was that scream? What¡¯s happening¡­¡± My dad walks into the hallway and sees my mother hugging me. ¡°Dear, it¡¯s Aria! Aria! Our cute little child finally removed the bandages! We can finally see our adorable little angel again!¡± My mother yells happily, continuing to embrace me tightly. Eventually, she puts me down and turns me to face my dad. Just like when they thought I was ¡®blessed,¡¯ his eyes were tearing up. ¡°She¡¯s so beautiful, Hana. Just like you. Our own little angel in the family.¡± He kneels down and gives me a quick hug, and I hug him back. After that, we had a feast for dinner as a celebration. I also got a lollipop. By the way, later that night, my mother wanted to bathe with me because she wanted to wash my body. That exact same scenario I thought up in the dungeon happened. She¡¯s so predictable. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Third Person Perspective: As soon as the dark haired man left with his companion, the mage Evalot sighs in relief. ¡°Ms. Evalot, why did you do such a thing? That was the biggest character change I¡¯ve ever seen from you.¡± The man, Prince Jinada of Atalin¡¯s Royal Family, questions his teacher. Ms. Evalot is a calm and collected woman. She has never raised her voice prior to this moment, nor has she ever scolded him like that. She was also extremely heartless. Someone like her would never let something as precious as the items from the two strongest dungeon bosses go by like that. She was even the one who proposed to forcefully take the items if they refused to give it to them. But upon seeing them, her reaction took a sudden turn, and she treated them with respect on the spot. This confused Jinada greatly. ¡°Your majesty, I¡¯m sorry for my rude behavior from earlier. I was trying to secure our safety that time.¡± She answers. ¡°Safety? Safety from what? Those two, lone adventurers? You kidding us? What the hell is wrong with you, thinking that we needed to be safe from them!?¡± One of the mercenaries hired to help take down the [Dungeon Master] yelled at the teacher. She glares at him quietly, causing him to freeze, but explains her reason. ¡°If all of you tried to think about it for a second, you¡¯d realize it. First, both the [Dungeon Master] and the [Hidden Boss] was taken down in a short period of time between each kill. That means both were fought simultaneously, and killed. They didn¡¯t fight them together, because they would have had to kill the bosses one at a time, and the time span between both kills would¡¯ve been much longer. This means that the man and his companion decided to fight each boss individually, one on one.¡± ¡°You sure they didn¡¯t get any help?¡± One of them asks a stupid question, and also received Evalot¡¯s cold glare. ¡°They were the only two who emerged. Did you see anyone else you fool?¡± He doesn¡¯t reply, and she continues her explanation. ¡°So, they have the strength to kill either of the bosses on their own. That alone means they¡¯re most likely adventurers of the [Immortal Tier]. But even they would suffer serious injuries, but these two appeared without a single scratch on either of them. What do you think this means?¡± The group processes these facts in their minds, and realize the danger they were in. All of them were A-ranked, with the exception of the Prince and Mage, who were S-ranked. But they knew the difference of strength between an [Immortal Tier] and [Mortal Tier]. If they angered someone who was potentially at the higher ranks of the [Immortal Tier], it would be them who would have been massacred on the spot. It was fortunate of them, because in truth, the man they were about to threaten had the strength to obliterate an army on his own. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for doubting you, Ms. Evalot! Thank you for saving my life!¡± The prince immediately says. He was kind to those he¡¯s close with, so he accepts the words of his teacher without argument and apologizes to her on the spot. The rest of the group could do nothing but admit that they just got safely from a life-or-death situation. But there was one more thing Ms. Evalot wanted to do. Upon returning to the castle, she will report to the king about these two people. These two were humans of the [Immortal Tier], and having them on Atalin¡¯s side would greatly benefit the kingdom. Most likely, he would issue a search request for these people, and ask for their audience. Unfortunately for them, the two they''re actually looking for doesn''t exist, and they will never find the ghosts they''re chasing after.
Yay~! I finally finished it. I typed over 8,000 words in one day, I feel proud of myself. Anyway, after this, I''ll set up a thread for a skill library. Already there''s a bit much to keep up with. Anyway, we''ll go back to casual life for a few chapter after this!! Skill Library This is a thread I created to explain any skill I mention in the story. That¡¯s ONLY skills that I MENTION in the story. I find it completely needless to insert skills that aren¡¯t in the story and that I might not even use. For example; Fireball. Haven¡¯t seen it in the story yet, so I won¡¯t write about it. And the description will never be in here unless I actually mention it being used in the story. It¡¯s not necessary at all to know any of this information, it¡¯s just here for those who are curious. I may miss some spells, so if I do, please remind me. Otherwise, if you have questions about any individual skill, ask them in this thread and I¡¯ll answer them. Question about skills: Spoiler :
What kind of skill is [Phantasm] exactly?
A: An overpowered skill, and I intend it to be completely overpowered and dominant. It¡¯s pretty much the ¡®perfect illusion,¡¯ creating what¡¯s essentially a clone of Aria with all her equipment and abilities. They are able to do the same amount of damage as Aria, take as much damage as Aria before dying, and they are able to use all of Aria¡¯s magic, but it requires her own mana to have them cast it. For example, if a [Phantasm] uses a fireball, it comes out of the original¡¯s mana pool. They don¡¯t bleed when wounded, and they can easily be seen through with any form of magic perception. Also, because the equipment is made from magic, it will disappear with the illusion at death, so of course she can¡¯t just clone items and sell them for cash, if that¡¯s what some of you thought. When using this skill, the illusion will be in the same state as Aria. Meaning, if Aria¡¯s wounded in the arm, the illusion will be wounded as well. It¡¯s magic at the complete pinnacle of spatial magic, the very top of it. It pretty much allows Aria to become a one man army. Or, an army of one thousand Arias, all with the ability to completely defeat an enemy with stats 5 times higher than their own. So yeah, a completely OP skill.
They will categorized into their types and elements. Magic types will be separated with long lines, while elements will be put into different spoilers. For gun magic, I will categorize them by gun types, weapon type and elements. The costs of the projectile magic is added on to the original bullet creation. Weapon types will be separated with short lines, while elements will be put into spoilers. Projectile magic will increase the mana cost based on the original cost of the gun. Example: [HNTR] costs 250 mana to fire per bullet. Firing [Fire Bullets] will make the cost become 300 mana.
Original Magic Fire Magic: Yet to be used in the story. Water Magic: Yet to be used in the story. Wind Magic: Spoiler :
Self Gravitation
Allows the caster to control their own gravitational force. Cost: 500 hp/mana per use.
Earth Magic: Spoiler :
Stone Body
Hardens the body to the point where it¡¯s similar to stone. Cost: 750 mana per use
Dark Magic: Spoiler :
Spectral Dagger
Creates two shadows that links two areas together as a portal. Limited to two shadows per caster. Cost: 250 mana per use.
Shadow Blur
Appearance becomes disguised and blurred like a shadow. Lasts for 5 minutes. Cost: 500 mana per use.
Shadow Weapon
Creates a shadow replica of a weapon that can cut magic particles. Cost: 500 mana per use.
Light Magic: Spoiler :
Angel¡¯s Embrace
Heals the target using a golden light that can regenerate any wound. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.Cost: 250 mana per second
Image Shift
Allows the appearance of the caster to be changed in every aspect, including voice. Illusion is intangible, all physical contact will phase through it.
Spatial Magic: Spoiler : [tr][td]Spatial Pocket
Allows storage in a separate dimension. Can store up to three items of any size. Cost: None
Teleport
Allows instant movement between two points. Distance Ratio: 1 HP + MP for 1 centimeter.
Phantasm
Creates a perfect illusion of the caster, capable of doing anything the original can. The illusion has physical form, and is capable to attacking and dying. It¡¯s status is equal to the caster¡¯s status. Illusion Cost: 7,500 HP/MP for 1 Illusion. Spells Cost: Any spell used by the illusion comes from the caster¡¯s mana pool.
Demon Magic: Spoiler : Soul Lance
Fires a demonic lance made of souls. Cost: 500 mana for 1 Lance.
Mode: Devil
Allows the Demon Lord to become a perfect Devil from Hell, increasing strength and speed. Cost: 25% mana for transformation
Black Skeleton
Demonic enchantment that strengthens the skeletal structure, increasing strength by 10 fold. Cost: 1% mana per 5 seconds.
Unique Magic: Spoiler :
Arcane Strike
Used By: Aria Brynhildr Enchants attacks with pure mana, increasing the damage based on the amount of mana gathered in the strike. Damage Ratio: 10 mana for 1 point of damage.
Echo Strike
Used By: Aria Brynhildr Causes an attack to echo between two points continuously based on the amount of mana gathered in the strike. Bounces multiply the amount of attacks, echoes multiply the amount of bounces. Bounce Ratio: 100 mana for 1 bounce. Echo Ratio: 1000 damage for 1 echo.
Reverse Force
Allows the user to ¡®store¡¯ the force of any movement and use it later. Cost: None.
Gun Magic Small Weapons: Spoiler : Pistols, Submachine Guns, Magnums. Fire Projectile Magic: Spoiler : [tr]
Fire BulletChanges the projectile properties to make it burn enemies on impact. Cost: +20% projectile cost for 1 bullet
[tr]
Inferno BulletChanges the projectile properties to make it explode into a ball of inferno flames on impact. Cost: +250% projectile cost for 1 bullet
Water Projectile Magic: Yet to be used in the story. Wind Projectile Magic: Yet to be used in the story. Earth Projectile Magic: Yet to be used in the story. Light Projectile Magic: Yet to be used in the story. Dark Projectile Magic: Yet to be used in the story. Chapter 18: The Unusual School Day Chapter 18: The Unusual School Day ¡°Aria~ my little adorable angel. You hair is so beautiful~!¡± My mother squeals in delight. As usual, she woke me up and dressed me up for school. I was wearing the same clothes I usually did, but this time, I didn¡¯t have my bandages on. I sit down on the bed, facing the mirror on my wardrobe while my mother combs my very long hair. After she finishes doing my hair, we leave the room and head downstairs for breakfast. There, my father finishes cooking us breakfast. Just like on my first day of school, she tried to feed me, but I refused her. I leave the house after eating breakfast, and walk towards school. It¡¯s been a day since I went to the Kazaric Ravines with Thoth, where my bandages were removed and I was given a new curse. Yesterday, I tried reading the skillbook given by the [System], but I wasn¡¯t able to learn the magic. Apparently, it¡¯s a skillbook [Summoning Magic], a new type that I haven¡¯t learnt yet. It¡¯s requirements is for me to at least be level 5 in that category, so obviously, I wasn¡¯t able to learn it. The magic is supposedly a spell that allows me to summon the [Frozen Viper] as a familiar for me to use. I don¡¯t know much about this kind of magic, so I can¡¯t explain the concept of these familiars, but perhaps I¡¯ll be taught about it soon. Also, another event occurred yesterday during my reading. A worldwide message from the system was announced, which caused a huge hype. The message was; ¡°Worldwide Announcement: World [Cyvish] has been conquered. Level limit has been increased by 100. Stat limit has been increased by 2,000. Conditions for [Duel System] has been fulfilled. World system upgraded. [Duel System] accessible by reciting [Mode: Duel] in the mind.¡± I don¡¯t know how duels previously worked in this world, but in my old world, a spar or duel stopped when blood was shed. Yes, this tended to make duels fairly quick, fast and lame, but it was to keep both fighters safe. Although I have no idea what this new [Duel System] will bring, but I¡¯m going to guess that it provides a safety mechanism so that duels won¡¯t end after just shedding blood. Anyway, today would be the first day I attend school without these bandages on. Just like when I returned home from the ravine, people stared at me strangely on the way there. It didn¡¯t stop even after I entered the school. Students and teachers were watching me as I walk by, and groups cleared a path for me in the hallway until I reached my [Homeroom]. I enter the classroom where everyone was talking, and one of them notice me. He whispered to his friends, who then in turn, looked at me as well. I ignore them and walk towards my seat, but I¡¯ve already attracted the attention of the entire classroom. I don¡¯t think my appearance is that strange, but they all seemed to have their attention me. Just as I reach my seat, I hear a yell from the front of the room. ¡°Aria Brynhildr!?¡± It was the martial artist that continues to challenge me. ¡°What!?¡± Many of my classmates yelled out. Some even have shocked expressions on their faces. ¡°¡­?¡± I tilt my head in response to this. They began to surround me just like they did on the second day of school, asking me several questions. ¡°What happened to your bandages!?¡± ¡°Why did you take them off?¡± ¡°Why were you trying to even wearing them!?¡± They continued on with this manner, to the point where it began to give me a headache, and I couldn¡¯t concentrate on keeping my mana from leaking. A blue aura begins to surround me, and the classmates felt the pressure of power much higher than their own. They all begin to back off, and return to their seats quickly, intimidated by my aura. This actually worked out for me, but now they know the difference in power between us. At least, that¡¯s what I thought until I heard the whispers that began to go around. Apparently, they believe what they felt was an ¡®untouchable aura.¡¯ I won¡¯t deny it, this situation works on my favor, and I¡¯ll take it. After that, my classmates continued to look at me, but remained distant and didn¡¯t approach me. Even my teacher, who came in later, felt the atmosphere of the room and just looked at me without doing anything else. I feel like I¡¯m getting too much attention. Maybe I should wrap myself again, or bring my cloak next time. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C My next two classes after that had similar events occur, and when we were supposed to study in groups during [Basic Studies], I was left completely alone. It wasn¡¯t this bad when I had my bandages on. Am I that strange to them? Anyway, I went to my usual spot during lunch on the room, and found that there were 7 people there. You can guess who. ¡°Hey! What the hell are you doing taking my meat!?¡± ¡°What does it matter? Why are you even eating anyway, when you¡¯re a damn skeleton?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t question it and stop stealing my food, you stupid poison-elf!¡± Currently, I¡¯m just hanging off the edge of the building, listening to Ghost and Haki bicker with each other. For some reason, the new student council group was eating their lunch on the roof of the building as well. They were making one hell of a commotion too, luckily no one was able to hear them. After all, no one was allowed up here. ¡°Calm down guys, quit making such a racket. Aria¡¯s going to arrive soon, so don¡¯t scare her away.¡± Ash scolds the two that are arguing, but they still continue bickering. ¡°Can you two shut the hell up before I throw the both of you off this roof?¡± This managed to shut them up. Good job, Minaya! ¡°¡­she¡¯s here.¡± Raina¡¯s cold voice says out loud. Seems like I¡¯ve been discovered, so I climb up the roof. ¡°Good afternoon, Aria, sorry that we¡­¡± Deome begins to greet me, but upon seeing me, he became quiet. In fact, just like everyone else, the whole group just looked at me. Even Ghost and Haki kept quiet, just staring at me. Though Peria was licking her lips for some reason, while Ash and Raina¡¯s cheeks were red. ¡°...hello?¡± I speak to them, and just like when I was in the dungeon with Thoth, they were startled from hearing my voice. ¡°We caught an ice princess guys! An ice princess! This girl definitely Aria, right? The one that¡¯ll be part of our council, right?¡± Haki overreacts, yelling out things I don¡¯t understand. Ice princess? What¡¯s that supposed to mean? Ghost joins in on the scene, and while they do that, Deome regains himself and speaks again. ¡°Ah, yes, sorry Aria, we¡¯ll be intruding on your personal lunch spot for today.¡± Deome finishes his sentence quickly. ¡°I know this is sudden, but we came here to discuss what we needed from you in the Student Council!¡± Ash informs me immediately. ¡°¡­then discuss.¡± I say, and I turn my back to them, before sitting down at the edge of the roof. I let my legs hang off, and open the lunch box my father made for me. ¡°Would it hurt if you just sat over here and talked to us?¡± Minaya asks me. ¡°¡­that works.¡± Minaya gives a good idea, and a minute later, I¡¯m sitting with the group of 7. This feels a bit too crowded, I liked being alone by the edge of the roof better. ¡°Okay then, Aria, thanks to the efforts of Peria and Deome, we won our campaign and became elected to the Student Council. I¡¯m the president, Peria is the¨C¡° ¡°Too long.¡± I interrupt Ash immediately, because I didn¡¯t want to listen to this. He stopped immediately, and had a worried expression on his face. ¡°¡­then I¡¯ll get to the point. We need you to become a member of the student council.¡± ¡°¡­obviously?¡± I reply. What was the point of saying that? Is he stupid? ¡°Not just a normal member working in it. We need you to be our hidden member.¡± ¡­Huh? What the heck is that supposed to mean? I tilt my head, confused at what this is supposed to mean. ¡°He wants you to be a council member in guise of a student. Along with that, you¡¯ll be our secret weapon when it comes into combative conflicts, but the chances of that are pretty close to none.¡± Peria explains. ¡°¡­and?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it. You¡¯re pretty much going to be a regular student, a back up member that we¡¯ll call on when we need you.¡± Peria claims. ¡°No, that¡¯s not it! She also needs to tell us about any students that are violating the rules outside of our watch! We can¡¯t be everywhere at once, so we need her to catch the smart-alecks who think they can avoid us!¡± Ghost adds. ¡°Oh yeah, there was that. I mean, honestly, considering who we are, she¡¯s probably not going to be doing anything unless there¡¯s an emergency situation.¡± ¡°¡­why me?¡± They literally could have anyone else doing this, yet, it had to be me. Honestly, I know that I¡¯m probably the most unsocial person here, and I want it to be that way. So what¡¯s the point of having someone like me do a job that involves social interactions? ¡°Two reasons. One, it¡¯s because you have an unapproachable atmosphere around you. So when you catch people violating the rules and reporting to us, you¡¯ll be the last person suspected to be the rat. This pretty much lets you continue going around and catching those breaking the rules much more easily than a regular student. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.¡°Two, your abilities. Based on what we¡¯ve seen and went through, you¡¯re a complete monster in guise of a human. This means that you can catch these violators without even being seen, so they won¡¯t know which people and places to avoid. You¡¯ll be helping us with our duties whilst keeping your support a secret, similar to an undercover spy of some sort within the students. This way, your identity will remain hidden, and our jobs become a bit easier. Also, just like Peria says, you can be our secret weapon in times of physical conflict.¡± Deome explains the reasons why they picked me, but it still seemed kind of strange. ¡°¡­third reason?¡± Those two couldn¡¯t be the only ones. ¡°I knew she would¡¯ve seen through it! Ghost, that¡¯s 5 bucks from you.¡± Haki says in the background, but I ignore it. ¡°¡­me.¡± Raina finally speaks, but I didn¡¯t understand what she meant by that. Is this how it feels to speak to someone who¡¯s unable to speak very well? ¡°Raina picked you herself. That¡¯s what the test was for in the beginning of the year. She wants you to be her sparring partner.¡± Ash says. ¡°¡­no, wrong.¡± Raina immediately denies his claims, and faces me while grabbing my hands. Her normally expressionless face now seems serious, and her eyes looked as if a bright fire has lit inside of them. ¡°Please, be my friend!¡± She suddenly says. An awkward, moment of silence went by, as everyone waited for my answer. When I befriended Thoth, she didn¡¯t ask me to do so. It was an implied request through her words, and I accepted it. This time, I was being asked directly by someone who had a cold personality similar to mine. It was a bit strange, being in this kind of situation. But based on her actions and the surprised expressions of the other people, it seems like this was a completely serious request from her. ¡°...only you.¡± I reply. The entire group reacts to this, and many of them congratulate Raina. It seems like I¡¯ve become her first friend that she¡¯s made herself. I just crossed that threshold a month ago, so I understand her feelings. A smile appears on her face, and she suddenly gives me a hug. After letting go, Ash clears his throat, and asks me again; ¡°So, can you become our hidden member?¡± The three reasons were a bit strange, the first one because it seemed just weird in general. An unapproachable aura makes me more unsuspected? The second one seemed a bit more solid, and then the third reason was just a personal choice by one of the members. Although they only provided one good reason, I nodded anyway. It didn¡¯t seem like something that can potentially expose myself. They all celebrate to this, yelling out cheers. This group overreacts too much. ¡°...I work alone.¡± I add at the end. This causes them to freeze. ¡°I mean, I guess it would decrease the risk of people figuring out that you¡¯re working with us. Will you at least see Raina, though? Even if it¡¯s outside of school.¡± Ash requests of me. ¡°¡­that¡¯s fine.¡± I say, and a satisfied expression appears on the sibling¡¯s faces. For the rest of lunch, the group talked and bickered while I returned to the edge of the roof, swinging my feet in the air. When the bell rang, I climbed down the building while using invisibility magic so no one sees me coming down. Unfortunately, while I took this harder way down, I didn¡¯t realize that the Student Council group had a key to the roof, and went down normally. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± Avern asks as soon as he sees me. ¡°¡­Aria?¡± Everyone else was able to guess it right so why couldn¡¯t he? ¡°¡°¡­¡±¡± A moment of silence came between both of us. ¡°¡­the hell were the bandages for then? You use them to cover wounds and hide scars, not to disguise your appearance. I thought you had several wounds or scars under those, making me think you had to be treated a little bit more delicately than the others.¡± He complains to me about something stupid. A little bit more delicately? This guy, he¡¯s funny. I¡¯m sure the extreme training that he gives me is the total opposite of delicate. If anything, he¡¯s treating the normal students more delicately than me. He sighs to himself after a bit, and just decides to begin the lesson. ¡°Okay, you guys, stop staring at the 8 year old princess! You¡¯re all three to four years older than her anyway, you perverts!¡± He yells at the other students. A lot of them gave surprised reactions. Well, not very many students knew my age, and I definitely didn¡¯t look it. People generally started attending at around 13 to 14 years old, because that¡¯s when they¡¯re able to get their statuses to meet the school requirements. I am most likely the youngest person attending this school, so that makes me a wild exception. ¡°Everyone, except Aria, you¡¯re all going to be running 2 laps around the school before starting sparring practices! You, little girl, are going to be doing something else. Follow me.¡± After sending the students off, he walks away from the training fields, and leaves the [Generalized Zone]. In fact, he enters the [Marksman¡¯s Zone], and walks all the way to their firing range. ¡°Wait here.¡± He says to me outside the firing range, and I do so. He enters a building near the firing range, and after a few minutes, yells at me to come in. I enter the building, which looked half as big as the firing range. Upon doing so, a projectile comes straight at me at high speed. I immediately dodge it, but notice that a second one was already fired to where I was dodging. Using my high speed, I was able to catch whatever came right at me. After verifying that the surprise attack stopped, I looked at the object that I caught, and it seemed to be a bullet. It was made of rubber, though, so it wouldn¡¯t have dealt any serious damage to me. ¡°What did I say? She¡¯s a Brynhildr, after all. I easily saw this coming.¡± Avern¡¯s voice appears behind me, and I turn to see him standing by the doorway. ¡°So the [Walking Armament] gave birth to a girl who can catch bullets. A bloodline of monstrous [Gun Knights], it seems.¡± An older voice comes from behind, and I turn to see a man who looked like he was in his mid-40¡¯s standing there with a pistol in hand. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll do it for a year, but then she¡¯ll have to ask her mother after that.¡± He says to Avern, who nods. I was confused, what was happening? Did they have some sort of agreement between each other? Did they know my mother? ¡°Let¡¯s get going, Aria. I got other kids, to look after.¡± He says, and he walks away immediately. So we suddenly arrive at the firing range, I get tested by someone, they talk about my mother, and I have to ask my mother about something? As I chase after Avern who¡¯s walked away, I was just about to ask what just happened, but he began talking before I could. ¡°You know, I figured you out instantly.¡± He said. ¡°On the first day, right after switching the grip of your weapon, I could tell you were better than you showed. I provoked you after that to see what you would show me, and when you threw that dagger, it confirmed my thoughts. The way you handled the knife was like watching a flowing river, nice and smooth. And your accuracy was point on.¡± So I did screw up on the second day. I was trying so hard to look clumsy with my combat ability, that I forgot about my natural handling of the dagger. He took notice of that and realized I wasn¡¯t pathetic at using the weapon. ¡°When I heard ¡®Brynhildr¡¯ in your name, I immediately thought of ¡®Hana Brynhildr,¡¯ the legendary [Gun Knight]. When you showed me your accurate throw, I immediately decided that you were going to become just like her. I¡¯m not able to train you in that subject, though, and I wasn¡¯t able to tell how physically capable you were. That¡¯s why I made you do continuous strength and stamina training. ¡°Now that I see that there¡¯s nothing wrong with you, I decided to just transfer you over to a professional [Marksman]. Although he can¡¯t train you to become a [Gun Knight], he can teach you the basics of [Gun Magic]. Like he said, after one year, you¡¯re going to have to ask your mother to help you down that path.¡± So his crappy attitude, his harsh training, he was doing that to try and prepare me for this? Why was he trying so hard? ¡°You¡¯re probably thinking, why am I trying so hard?¡± Wow, I actually was! ¡°Well, it¡¯s because I owe your mom something. I can pay her back this way, helping her daughter. Therefore, I set this opportunity up for you. To be honest, I don¡¯t want to see an 8 year old girl going through an [Advanced Class] for adventurers, that¡¯s really damn scary. But you¡¯re obviously capable of handling it, so I¡¯ll support you for now.¡± Honestly, my impression of him went up quite a lot from listening to him. He was much nicer than he looked. Though I still had several questions for him, especially about my mother, I kept quiet for now. ¡°Anyway, as soon as we get back, you¡¯re going to do 5 laps around the school as a final test in my class. And I expect you to finish it before the bell rings, got it?¡± Forget what I just said about him being nice. This guy¡¯s a total ass.
Sorry about not uploading anything yesterday, my mind went [DERP] as I worked on the chapter. I¡¯ll try to throw two or three more chapters after this one, because I¡¯m pretty much free all today, so may as well just work on the story a bit more. Chapter 19: The Gun Training Chapter 19: The Gun Training ¡°As you all know, there was a worldwide announcement yesterday by the [System]. Humans were finally able to conquer the [Immortal Tier] dungeon world, [Cyvish], and the world system has been upgraded. Finally, Sykerion has unlocked one of the more basic systems known as the [Duel System], something that all other worlds obtained a long time ago.¡± Avin says. The students are fairly hyped about this new system, but most of them already knew how it worked. ¡°Based on what we know, the system allows us to challenge others to a duel, and if they accept, you will both be able to battle without restraint. This is because of the safety measure provided by the [System], which is obviously extremely reliable. The battle goes on until either opponent hits 1 health, and is then healed instantly when the battle is over. In group combat, when your health hits 1, you will be put into an unconscious state until the battle¡¯s over.¡± This system, is way too convenient and useful. That means in duels, anyone can go all out without restraint, and with the reliable [System] securing our safety, we won¡¯t die in the middle of the duel. ¡°Of course, you can¡¯t duel at any given time. First, the two opposing forces must be in an area recognized as a [Duel Zone] by the [System]. In this school, that is the [Arena] in the [Generalized Zone], and the [War Field] in the [Combat Zone]. In order to propose a duel between two forces, one side must give a request through the [Duel System] that appears when recited in the mind, and the other side must accept. This will be demonstrated in your combat classes, so don¡¯t bother with it now.¡± ¡°So the tournament next week will now be using this [System]?¡± A student asks. ¡°Yes, this way, the tournament will be much more interesting, no?¡± The class topic begins turning towards the tournament event, but I stopped listening already. I completely forgot about this event that¡¯s coming around. I saw people setting up the event, but I didn¡¯t realize that it was for the tournament. Apparently, the host of this year¡¯s two tournaments is our school, so we have to make sure the [Arena] is in good condition, and clean it up to make it look nice and such. Now, there¡¯s a bit of a problem on my side. This tournament, I made a promise to a certain someone that I¡¯d join it. And there¡¯s no way I¡¯m able to decline it, because it¡¯s that person. So, I have no choice but to enter it and fight freshmen from other [Adventurer¡¯s School], including Thoth. I should probably hold back, in an attempt to not attract attention. But if I do that, I¡¯ll probably be scolded by Thoth for doing such a thing. I can¡¯t fight with all my strength either, that¡¯ll pretty much expose me. Then, I¡¯ll just do the same thing I did in the [Kazaric Ravines]. I¡¯ll disguise my identity and fight like that. That way, if they want to search for me who may or may not be the victor, they will be chasing a ghost again. Wait, but then who will I change my appearance to be? Can I be someone outside of the school, joining the tournament? I tried to think about how I should go about with this, when a student suddenly says; ¡°Who¡¯s allowed to join this tournament exactly?¡± ¡°Why, anyone as long as they¡¯re a first year at any of the [Adventurer¡¯s Schools].¡± ¡°So if I register with a name that¡¯s not my own, I¡¯ll be allowed in as long as I confirm that I¡¯m a first year student here?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, but first, in order to confirm your status as a first year student, you need to give your real name beforehand. They¡¯ll look it up in the student database to confirm your name and appearance. After that, you can rename yourself.¡± ¡°Yes! Guys, the legend of the [Black Enigma]¡¯s gonna start here!¡± He says to his friends excitingly. And there¡¯s my answer. I¡¯ll enter the tournament with a false name, and hide my appearance so no one will be able to figure out who I am. But I can¡¯t exactly register in person, because if I¡¯m seen at the registration area, that alone will be attention-seeking. In this case, I have no one to turn to. Perhaps I should just go there in disguise, and just register like that. I can¡¯t confirm my identity as a first year student if I do that, though, so that¡¯s out. My thoughts are interrupted by the bell ringing, and the class ends. I decide to clear my head for now, and head towards my next class. By the time the day ended, I still couldn¡¯t think of a solution. Instead, I just recall the events of what happened today. It was probably the most unusual day I¡¯ve had in this lifetime. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C The second day at school, and I believe I¡¯m attracting attention in a way that I don¡¯t want to; some sort of symbol of fear. When I walk through the school gates, they all clear a path for me and no one crossed my path. Whenever I made eye contact with someone, they¡¯d turn away immediately and act as if they weren¡¯t staring at me. In class, when handouts were given out, mine was usually the last and they¡¯d run after they handed it to me. During group projects, I was alone no matter what, and no one dared to approach me if they could avoid it. Even though they¡¯re treating me this way, they all continued to watch my actions with a strange expression. It looked like they were admiring me, but they were treating me distant for some reason. Not that I mind, because I prefer to be alone like this. The problem is that I¡¯m still attracting attention onto myself somehow, even though I¡¯m isolated from the other students. I can¡¯t think of a way to avoid it, if I don¡¯t even know the cause of this. Maybe it¡¯s my appearance? I don¡¯t think I look like something to fear though. Honestly, I do think that I am quite pretty myself, but I guess the other students sees it differently. The student council kept their promise of allowing me to be alone, so they weren¡¯t at the roof of the school building today. Though, I don¡¯t think I can actually help them out as they requested. I¡¯m supposed to be a hidden member that blends in normally with the students, but clearly that isn¡¯t working if I¡¯m being isolated like this. Not that I care that much, but it really ruins their plan of having me help them out in the shadows. Or perhaps that was an excuse for me to just be a member in secret? Or just for me to somehow be a part of their group? I decide not to think much about it, and just continue eating my lunch. After the bell rings, as Avern instructed, I went to the [Marksman¡¯s Zone] and head towards the firing range. I got strange looks from some of the students, because I was a new face appearing in the area, but just like everyone else in the [Generalized Zone], no one approached me. I walk to the building near the firing range, and knock on the door. ¡°Who is it?¡± I hear the voice of the man who talked with Avern yesterday. ¡°¡­Aria.¡± I say quietly. ¡°Say that again? I didn¡¯t hear you.¡± His voice replies behind the door. ¡°¡­Aria.¡± I repeat, a bit louder. After a bit, I hear a clicking sound behind the doorway, but he didn¡¯t open the door. So I let myself in, instead. I enter through the entrance way, and look for the man that was supposed to be my new teacher. Last time I came in here, I wasn¡¯t able to actually look around due to the sudden attack on me, but this time, I had a chance to examine the room. The walls were full of [Magic Guns] being hung on the wall, and there were several display cases with guns inside of them. The guns ranged from small pistols to large missile launchers, and there were also smaller devices that I believe were [Grenades]. The man from yesterday was putting a large gun into one of the cases, and says to me; ¡°Although we just added this zone recently, I believe our school has quite the collection of guns, don¡¯t you think?¡± After closing and locking the case with magic, he turns to me with a smile on his face. ¡°This, girl, is the gun armory. We have lockers full of these babies in the back of the building, and a firing range to test some of them. I¡¯m the man taking care of this place, Jiriko. I¡¯m sure Avern has told you about why you¡¯re here, so we¡¯ll get started. Come with me to the back.¡± He enters a door at the back of the room, and I follow behind him. In this new room we enter, just as he said, there were lockers full of the guns being displayed at the front. Hundreds, and if not thousands of lockers. ¡°Your eyes are sparkling there, little girl. Reminds me of Hana when she first saw the castle¡¯s gun armory.¡± He says. I immediately turn to him upon hearing my mother¡¯s name. ¡°¡­mother¡¯s¡­acquaintance?¡± I ask. ¡°I was one of your mother¡¯s teachers. She didn¡¯t learn how to use every weapon naturally, you know? I was the one who taught her how to fire the rifles, and there were three other teachers for her as well. I¡¯ll tell you now, she was a walking ball of energy, we could never keep her calm. Always over excited by everything, and trying her hardest all the time.¡± He laughs to himself, most likely recalling past memories. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m surprised she gave birth to someone like you. Not only are you a girl who has even more potential than her, but your personality seems to be the total opposite. Tell me, have you ever spoken more than 5 words?¡± He asks me. ¡°¡­four.¡± He laughs as soon as he hears this. ¡°Man, I seriously can¡¯t believe you¡¯re her daughter! Oh wow, this is great. Well then, let¡¯s not waste any more time. Pick a gun that you like.¡± I tilt my head as soon as I hear this. Am I just supposed to pick whatever I want? ¡°Confused, little girl? Well, to start training in [Gun Magic], you need a gun. And you can¡¯t just use the same magic for every type of gun. For example, you can¡¯t use magic for [Magic Rifles] with [Launchers]. Nor can you use magic for [Physical Guns] for [Magical Guns]. So, we¡¯ll just start based on what you like.¡± I still didn¡¯t quite understand, but I decide to pick one anyway. I search for a locker that contains a very specific weapon, and find it. A locker full of [Magnums]. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Little girl, those small guns are a lot more powerful than they seem. It takes quite a lot to handle them. You think you got what it takes?¡± He warns me of their power, and I was already fully aware of it, so I nod in reply. I look through the [Magnums], and took the one I believed was the weakest. I saw the [HNTR] in the arsenal, but if he were to learn that I was able to use such a monstrous weapon, it¡¯d lead to unwanted results. I mean, he already knew I was fast enough to catch bullets, albeit from a weak pistol, but being able to even do so is quite a feat. I don¡¯t want give him more reason to call me a little monster. After picking my gun, we enter through another door on the opposite side of the first room. Inside, was a wide firing range and a table that held several more guns. ¡°This range is for the purpose of testing weapons, not practicing. So basically, think of it as your own personal range.¡± He tells me. I walk into one of the bays, and look down the range. There was a blue target about 15 meters away, in the shape of the human body. There was also some goggles and ear muffs on the table, and some sort of metal sheet on the wall with a hand print in it. Under the sheet was screen of some sort. I see a blue dot in the center of it. ¡°Let me explain something first. In order to set up a target in a firing range, all you have to do is put your hand on that metal sheet, and pour mana into it. The target will be created using your mana, and you can move its position using that screen under the sheet. You can add more than one target if you want. Next, always have eye and ear protection. Even though it¡¯s not a battlefield or arena, the range is still an extremely dangerous place. You can damage your hearing from being inside of one.¡± He continues on with several rules about the range, but I listen to them properly. Always walk around with a gun case, any kind would be fine. Always, always have the safety on before carrying the gun around. Always keep your gun aimed down the range no matter what. Always listen to the [Range Officer]. After going through the rules with me several times, I¡¯m finally allowed to put on the equipment and training will begin. ¡°Okay then, first off, let¡¯s see how well you can fire the gun. Just fire at the target at the center of the range.¡± I nod, and put on the equipment provided. He wears them as well, and stands behind me. I pull the safety switch on the [Magnum], and raise it to eye level. ¡°Stop there for a second.¡± Jiriko suddenly says, and corrects my stance by telling me which body part to move. After he gave me the okay, my body felt a bit strange from the position I was standing in. Ignoring the awkward feeling, I pull the trigger of the [Magnum], which makes a loud bang that I could hear through the ear muffs, and hits the target in the shoulder. ¡°¡­position¡­no good¡­¡± I say. ¡°You think a more comfortable position will help your aim? You can try if you want, and if it works, we¡¯ll go with it.¡± He says. Being given permission to do so, I stop with the awkward stance and bounce side to side for a bit to relax my muscles. Then, I step forward, my right leg in front of my left. I rotate my chest left, raised the [Magnum] with my right arm, and kept my left arm bent back. The recoil of this gun wasn¡¯t as strong as the [HNTR], I can tell that I can handle firing it with one arm. After changing my stance to a strange one, I fire the [Magnum] three times consecutively. I hit the head, chest and stomach all three shots. A still target was a lot easier to hit than a moving target, and with the combat experience I obtained in the [Kazaric Ravines], my aim was slightly above average. Firing at extremely fast ice cats and really small bats really helped me learn, you know? ¡°¡­so her kid is even more unbelievable than her.¡± I hear Jiriko mutter behind me. I turn to face him, and he was pinching his forehead while looking down. Perhaps he was irritated from seeing such a thing? ¡°Ah, whatever. Like mother, like daughter, huh? Your mother did the same thing when she started off, but it took her about a month to actually get a stance that worked better for her. It¡¯s the exact same one as yours.¡± He tells me. It kind of surprised me, hearing that I¡¯m using the exact same firing stance as my mother. ¡°Of course she didn¡¯t use that for the weapons, but I bet you¡¯ll copy her in those areas too. Anyway, now that I know that you can fire a gun properly, we¡¯ll get to the magic.¡± He grabs one of the pistols on the table, and raises it to the target in the range. The target has already repaired the damage from my earlier shots. How convenient, having a self-regenerating target. He takes the stance that he tried to make me use earlier, and fires the pistol. A red light comes from the nozzle as the bullet flies out, and hits the chest of the target. Flames burst around the area it hits, and engulfs the entire figure. Eventually, the entire target is burnt and evaporates into magic particles. ¡°[Basic Gun Magic], mostly affects the projectile rather than the gun itself. Right now, I just fired a [Fire Bullet], which burns the area it hits as you can see. Just like normal magic, there are higher tiers of this kind of magic, the strongest known [Fire Projectile] being [Napalm Bullet]. When you reach [Advanced Gun Magic], you will learn spells that affect the gun rather than the projectile, and there¡¯s even a special set of skills made specifically for [Gun Knights] that helps with close combat.¡± He gives me a quick run down of [Gun Magic], and I was excited to learn it, although my expression didn¡¯t show it. At least, I think it didn¡¯t. ¡°Well then, sparkly eyes, let¡¯s start training.¡± He was already able to read my expressions so quickly. For the rest of the time, he teaches me how to change the properties of the bullet being fired, and I learn the basics of [Gun Projectile Magic], able to use a bullet of each of the basic elements. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Well then, little girl. That¡¯s all the time we have here, but you sure learnt the basics real fast. You definitely have the makings of a mage, learning magic just like that and being able to fire a high-mana cost gun like that several times. You¡¯re seriously much more of a genius at this than your mother was, hahaha!¡± He laughs out loud, before sending me off. I head towards my next class, feeling quite happy. I finally have someone who can actually teach me how to use [Gun Magic], a completely enigmatic set of magic that I¡¯m very curious about. During that entire time, though, I failed to notice the third presence in that firing range, watching over me. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Third Person Perspective: ¡°So, how is she?¡± Someone says to Jiriko from within the armory. ¡°An [Immortal Tier] monster in guise of a child. Perhaps even beyond that.¡± He replies to the shadow behind him. ¡°I see. I was worried for her before, but now I can see that she is far stronger than she seems. I can be at ease, letting her attend here.¡± The shadow lets out a sigh of relief. ¡°Are you sure about this though? Having her attend the two tournaments this year?¡± Jiriko asks worryingly. ¡°Are you worried about her facing against ¡®Pyrion¡¯?¡± ¡°He¡¯s in his first year as well, right? Most likely, they¡¯ll meet in the tournament and battle each other. I know Aria¡¯s a monster, but she seems quite docile. I don¡¯t think she has what it takes to fight him. Besides, based on what you¡¯ve seen, she¡¯s trying to avoid attention, right? So how are you going to even get her into these tournaments?¡± He glares at the person standing behind the counter in the armory. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know a way to get her into the tournament with my authority. And I¡¯m well aware that she¡¯s trying to avoid attention, in fear of exposing the monster within her. Quite the smart child, she is. Sometimes, it makes me wonder if she¡¯s really 8 years old.¡± He begins to go slightly off-topic, but Jiriko quickly stops him. ¡°Quit changing the flow of the conversation and answer me.¡± ¡°How impatient. Fine then, I shall explain it. What she fears, is not attention, but complications in the future. If it¡¯s known that she¡¯s far more powerful than a [Mortal Tier] adventurer before she¡¯s even hit puberty, she will surely be scouted by kingdoms for military use, and she wishes to avoid this. She wants to become an adventurer, and explore these dungeons without worry, heading into the [Immortal] and [God] worlds.¡± The man pulls out a small dagger and plays with it in his hands. ¡°Then how does attending the tournaments help her?¡± He says, eying the dagger. ¡°I, too, wish to see a Human accomplish this, so I want to help train her by giving her competition and rivals within these tournaments. If I help remove these complications that she wishes to avoid, then she¡¯ll be able to fight freely and without restraint.¡± ¡°How do you plan to do that, then?¡± ¡°Did you forget who I am, Jiriko? I can do whatever I want within this kingdom, and no one can do about it.¡± He says, and slams the dagger into the counter. ¡°I have no need to have her support me, so instead, I¡¯ll be the one supporting her from the shadows. Think of it as a pastime for me.¡± He says, and heads to the exit of the armory. Jiriko steps out of the way, and lets him leave. ¡°Just so you know, she¡¯s under my watch right now. If you try anything funny, I won¡¯t forgive you.¡± He says. ¡°Quite the overprotective one, aren¡¯t you? Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t try anything. I wouldn¡¯t want to anger you, but I especially don¡¯t want to anger Hana. After all, we were all part of her harem for a while, you know? I still have lingering feelings, but I¡¯ve moved on already. Right now, just like you and Avern, I¡¯m doing this to repay her.¡± The shadow replies as he walks away. Eventually, he fades into the light, and disappears completely.
Chapter 20 coming right up, just wait a bit for it! Chapter 20: The New Friend Chapter 20: The New Friend ¡°¡­hello?¡± I say to the two siblings standing in front of my gate. Despite just seeing me yesterday, why are they already making contact with me? Are they already expecting results? I can¡¯t exactly tell them that I¡¯m not blending in at all, so I can¡¯t exactly speak to other people and find out who¡¯s violating the rules. ¡°Oh, hey Aria. Sorry to suddenly come by, but are you busy today?¡± Ash asks me. I shake my head in response to this. ¡°Great, then Raina has a request for you!¡± He pushes his sister forward, who for some reason has a dress on, even though it''s only been about 20 minutes since the school day ended. ¡°...Ah, okay¡­¡± she mutters. She clears her throat, and then suddenly yells, ¡°Can we go eat ice cream!?¡± ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Ten minutes later, we¡¯re both eating ice cream at a parfait shop. We ordered one large parfait between the both of us, and shared it together. I¡¯ve never eaten ice cream while I had my bandages on, so this experience was a first for me. The parfait we ordered had 5 different small scoops in a bowl, each a different flavor. I, in particular liked the ¡®cookies and cream¡¯ flavor, but it seems like Raina enjoys mint. Honestly, I didn¡¯t expect her to be a person who enjoyed sweets, but here she is shoving ice cream at a really fast pace. I find it hard to believe that she isn¡¯t affected by eating all of that at once. I got a brain freeze after about 10 seconds of consuming it as fast as she did. When we finished it, she had a satisfied smile on her face, and it made me smile looking at it. When the waiter came over to take our payment, his face turned red upon seeing us. I had no idea why, though. Did we annoy him somehow? Anyway, I paid the bill because it seemed like Ash forgot to give Raina money for the ice cream. I had about 15 gold saved up from what my parents have given me over the years, so I always carry around 1 gold in the form of silver and copper coins. I put the coins in a pouch that I usually leave in my school bag, so it was convenient that I brought it with me this time. After paying the bill, we both leave the shop and walk around downtown together. I didn¡¯t realize it before, but now that I¡¯m walking side by side with her, I noticed that she was about 10 centimeters shorter than I was. It shows that I really don¡¯t seem my age, huh? We go around window shopping, when she suddenly pulls on my arm. I turn to see what she wants, and I see that she¡¯s pointing at a clothing store. I see a gleam in her eye, and a playful smile on her face, which made me inclined to shake my head. ¡°¡­we¡¯re going anyway!¡± She says, and drags me into the store against my will. A few minutes later, I¡¯m being forced into a light blue, frilly dress with a ribbon tied onto it. I¡¯m no good with this kind of stuff, but I don¡¯t know how to refuse pushy people like her and Thoth. She tries on different dresses as well, many which completely makes her look like an angel. I can feel my cheeks heating up a bit when I see her smile at me in those clothing. After trying on dresses, we go onto clothes that fit me more than the dresses did. We both try on boyish clothes; t-shirt, pants and all. I find it far more comfortable than the dresses, and I liked the way I looked in these. Raina also fit the look very well, seeming very tomboyish because of her short hair and figure. In fact, I think that she¡¯d look nice in anything, which made me feel slightly inferior to her. I buy some of the clothing we tried on for the both of us, which she tried to refuse but I insisted on it. We leave with about 2 bags of clothing each. I just spent all the silver I brought with me, with only about 4 silver left in the form of copper coins. Clothes were pretty damn expensive, I didn¡¯t expect it to cost me 94 silver in total. I spent 2 silver for the parfait we ate, so today I nearly used a whole gold coin¡¯s worth of money. It¡¯s 5 PM, so we had about an hour left until my curfew. Raina wanted to show me something, and made me follow her through the city. We reach the slums area, near the parking lot where I usually met up with Thoth whenever we went out to the dungeon. She runs into an abandoned apartment building, which looked like it was about to collapse any minute now. Inside, we go by the receptionist desk and walk up the stairs. After reaching the third floor, the stairs were collapsed, and we weren¡¯t able to progress any higher. Raina suddenly begins running down the hall, and runs up the wall straight into a hole in the ceiling of the building. I follow her example, running down the hall and trying to wall run like she did. Except I slipped down after the first step, so instead, I just used my high strength and agility to just jump through the hole instead. I find myself on the fourth floor, and Raina was there waiting for me. When she sees me jumping through the hole, she turns and runs down the hall again, and leaps right out a hole in the wall. I immediately dash to the hole and look through it, only to see Raina standing on a giant steel beam part of another abandoned building that was still in it¡¯s construction phase, the steel framework still standing. From the looks of it, it was originally supposed to be a skyscraper, but the project was scrapped. I take several steps back, and prep myself, before sprinting at the hole and taking a leap at the building. I soar through the air, and find myself falling onto the steel beam right above Raina¡¯s. The strength of my jump nearly sends me right over it, but I managed to spin myself whilst in the air and grabbed onto the beam, before pulling myself up onto it. After confirming my safety, Raina begins climbing the steel framework of the building, ascending at a fast pace. She leaps from beam to beam, running up the vertical beams and jumping off them to reach the higher ones, and it takes everything I have to keep up with her crazy speed. Eventually, she reaches the top of the incomplete building, and sit on one of the beams, swinging her legs in the air while waiting for me. I eventually make it as well, and stand next to her, looking at what she was staring at. A sunset in the horizon, and a huge city below us. ¡°This is my favorite spot.¡± She suddenly says. ¡°I like to watch people from here. Those tiny dots on the ground, I see them clearly.¡± ¡°¡­eye?¡± I ask. ¡°Yep. Both of these eyes have a different special property to them. Do you want to know?¡± Her shy, reserved personality from before has completely disappeared. I don¡¯t say anything, nor do I make any actions, but she tells me anyway. ¡°My left eye gives me magic perception when I put mana into it. My right eye grants me enhanced vision in both day and night. That¡¯s how I saw you that day on the roof.¡± She explains to me. ¡°¡­why tell me?¡± I ask. ¡°Silly. You¡¯re my friend, right?¡± She says, turning to me with a smile. ¡°¡­yeah.¡± I confirm, and take a seat next to her, watching the sun set down the horizon, and the city lights popping up like stars in the night sky. I was already late for curfew, but I didn¡¯t really care. If I just tell them that I went out to play with my new friend, my parents will probably forgive me right away. After the sun is completely down, Raina stands up, and watches me. ¡°I showed you one of my secrets, so we¡¯re close friends now, right?¡± Her words surprised me. A close friend, all the sudden, huh? Should I tell her a secret of mine? ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me your secrets. This is just my way of opening up to you.¡± She interrupts my thoughts, completely reading my mind. I look up at her in surprise, and she just stares at me with a smile. ¡°When you finally tell me your secret, then we¡¯ll be best friends. I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± After saying that, she begins climbing down the steel tower. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.I follow her, the descent much faster than we climbed it, reaching ground level quickly. I walk her home, dropping her off at the gates of her house. We ring the doorbell, and she thanks me for the day out. When her parents opened the door and saw the both of us, she walks right into the house and closes it before they could say anything. I heard loud yells of excitement as I walked away. It sounded like her parents were similar to mine. Speaking of my parents, they were extremely mad when I returned home 2 hours later as curfew. As I predicted though, as soon as I mention that I went out with my new friend, they forgave me immediately. Really, they¡¯re too simple and predictable. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°You don¡¯t know what the difference between a physical and ethereal gun is!?¡± Jiriko yells out loud. Second day as his student, I just asked him about two guns that looked extremely similar to each other. When he told me that one was physical, and one was ethereal, I asked him what that meant, and it lead to this. He sighs to himself, before beginning the explanation. ¡°Okay, little girl, let me explain it nice and quick for you. A [Physical Gun], is like the [WMM-450] you¡¯re currently using. It fires physical bullets that can change it¡¯s projectile properties to different elements. An [Ethereal Gun], on the other hand, fires raw magic energy rather than bullets. It¡¯s made for spiritual and ethereal beasts, also to destroy magic barriers much more easily. You can use it to harm physical things too, but the [Physical Gun] is superior in that manner. ¡°[Ethereal Gun Magic] is much different from the [Physical Gun Magic], just be aware of that. For now, because you¡¯re using a [Physical Gun], we¡¯ll stay down this path for a bit before switching over. Just to satisfy your curiosity, your mother was a fan of [Physical Guns] rather than [Ethereal Guns].¡± He gives me a quick explanation, but I was able to understand the general concept of it. We return to the firing range to practice my [Gun Magic], and today, I learn about explosive projectiles. This time, several targets were set up in the firing range, and Jiriko has a [Magnum] in hand as well. The one he was using was called the [BLC-90], while mine was the [WMM-450]. I was using the weakest gun of the class, while his was a more powerful one, common amongst the soldiers that uses [Magnums]. ¡°Okay, you see that crowd of targets? Launchers aren¡¯t the only ones that can make things go boom. Using [Gun Magic], regular guns can as well. Watch this." He fires the [BLC-90] at the center of the group, and an explosion occurs in the center of the firing range. When the smoke subsides, all the targets are completely destroyed, not a single one remaining. The firing range was okay, because it was built to withstand experiments that involves [Gun Magic] much more powerful than this. ¡°That¡¯s one of the more advanced spells of [Fire Projectile Magic], [Inferno Bullet]. It engulfs a small area in flames reaching up to 2000? celsius. You look excited to learn this, little girl.¡± He says to me, and like he implies, I¡¯m in awe of what I saw. This was truly amazing, [Gun Magic]. ¡°¡­why have launchers?¡± I ask. If a small weapon like the [Magnum] can cause an explosion like this, is there really a point to a launcher? ¡°Because they¡¯re better at the job! Think about it, if you have [Gun Magic] for small weapons like this that can become as powerful as a normal launcher, imagine using [Gun Magic] for the launcher itself! For example, the [MPC-2] can fire a large anti-tank missile, but with [Gun Magic], that missile can have properties of a cluster bomb, and create even more explosions at impact!¡± As he spoke, Jiriko had a hint of excitement in his voice. ¡°¡­how to defend?¡± I ask. If [Gun magic] was this powerful, then how come we haven¡¯t just destroyed several [Dungeon Worlds] on our own already? ¡°How to defend against it? Well, ironically, guns can easily be disabled, blocked or stopped completely with magic. Bullets can be blocked by barriers, explosions can be contained or reversed easily, because that¡¯s the nature of magic. An overwhelming force that overturns other powerful forces. That¡¯s why [Ethereal Guns] were created, but even those aren¡¯t enough to completely nullify magic. It¡¯s why people believe that being a [Marksman] isn¡¯t worth it.¡± He says with a hint of sadness in his voice. ¡°Honestly, I myself believe that [Magic Guns] alone are not that effective when there¡¯s a mage on the enemy side. But when you combine the power of a [Magic Gun] with a physical fighter, then things change completely. That is why [Gun Knights] are one of the most powerful classes available for Humans. They are capable of using the powerful magic equivalent to a normal magician¡¯s arsenal, and they are fighters that can keep up with even the strongest of knights. I believe that they are the capable of leaving behind a legend similar to the [Arcane Knights].¡± He says proudly. ¡°¡­[Arcane Knights]?¡± I ask. I haven¡¯t heard about this legend myself, so I was curious about it. I was originally one of these, as well. ¡°Little girl, no one¡¯s told you the legend? Then I¡¯ll do so myself. Many people say that these people never actually existed, but the [Arcane Knights] were a legendary group of warriors capable of both magic and swordsmanship of the highest class. It¡¯s been said that they could create fissures in the earth, shockwaves with their every strike, and even make the sky fall.¡± ...what did I just hear? ¡°¡­what?¡± I echo my thoughts. ¡°That¡¯s right, they can make the sky fall. According to the stories, the [Hero] Thoth was an [Arcane Knight] himself. Apparently, during the war against the [Demons], at the battle of [Feranlite], he made the sky fall onto the stronghold, said to be the second strongest castle of the [Demons].¡± He says with admiration in his voice. That story? I didn¡¯t make the sky fall there. That was just a [Light Magic] spell called [Sun Raze]. I focused my mana onto the castle, and after about 30 seconds, a large ball of fire I pulled from the sun finally landed onto the castle at the speed of light, and completely destroyed the place. They over exaggerated my efforts by saying I made the sky fell. I don¡¯t say that out loud, obviously, and just let him keep this image in his mind. ¡°Anyway, the [Arcane Knights] completely disappeared at the end of the war, without leaving behind any of their techniques or spells. Due to this, it was believed that they never even existed, and that the [Hero] had [Archmage] as one of his classes. Returning to the original topic, I believe that [Gun Knights] can truly become the next [Arcane Knights], leaving behind a legend as great as them. But, I don¡¯t want you to become any normal [Gun Knight].¡± He says to me. ¡°You see, [Gun Knights] are supposed to be people who fight with their guns, fists and magic. What I want to see you do, is fight with a gun in one hand, a dagger in the other, and large arsenal of magic right behind you, ready to be fired at any time. Therefore, after teaching you the basics of [Gun Magic], I will personally train you to be able to use melee weapons alongside [Magic Guns].¡± I liked this idea a lot. If I was capable to using a close combat weapon, along with a gun in hand, this would truly make me an unstoppable force in combat. After the long, off-topic conversation, we continue with [Gun Magic] training, and I learn how to use some of the higher-tier [Projectile Magic]. At this rate, I may be able to just use the [Gun Magic] in actual combat when the tournament comes around. Now that I think about it, I still can¡¯t find a way to register into it. I should really get working on that, shouldn¡¯t I?
Phew, finally done! Though I proofread it myself this time because Editor-san went to sleep early. So yeah, there may or may not be grammatical mistakes and such like before. Chapter 21: The Soul Contract Chapter 21: The Soul Contract ¡°You¡¯re like a damn sponge, little girl, do you know that?¡± Currently, it is Friday, the final day of the school week, and I just finished learning all the [Basic Projectile Magic] for [Small Weapons]. Jiriko just gave me a test for it, telling me to try different projectile elements for different guns. At first, he gave me a [Pistol] and told me to fire a [Water Bullet]. I did it. After that, he gave me a [Submachine Gun], and told me to fire [Wind Bullets]. I did that as well. Finally, he gave me a [Magnum] and told me to fire an [Inferno Bullet]. I successfully fired it. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of anyone learning the basics of a magic type this fast. Three days, it took you. Three days, to learn the basics of [Projectile Magic]. Everything I said to you, you absorbed it like water, sponge girl. You absorb it, and you embed it into your brain before you squeeze it out to take more.¡± I have no idea how to take these words, but I assume it¡¯s a compliment in the form of jealousy. Jiriko pinches his forehead, something he commonly does when he¡¯s starting to get irritated. ¡°You make everything look so damn easy¡­¡± He mutters to himself. ¡°¡­sorry?¡± I squeak out. ¡°Nothing for you to apologize for. Anyway, little girl, for your fourth day here, we¡¯re going to train you in [Gun Knight] combat. The tournament is just around the corner, and I assume that you¡¯ll be joining it.¡± I nod in reply, confirming that I will participate in it. Not that I found a way to register yet, and today¡¯s the deadline. This may be troublesome. ¡°Okay then, go the [Arena]. Although there¡¯s a class occupying it right now, I booked one of the underground sparring rooms for you to use. It¡¯s room 2003, which is on the second floor. In there, a specialist in dual-wielding combat will be waiting for you. She¡¯ll help out with the training, because I myself am not capable of teaching you this kind of combat. I¡¯ll follow you after I clean up, so just go on ahead.¡± I leave after hearing this, and run towards the [Arena]. The campus is mostly empty, due to classes going on, so I sprint over there at high speed. Speaking of the school, I believe I¡¯ve finally become a symbol of fear for the other students. This morning, when I walked through the gates, people completely cleared the path for me and allowed me to walk through without any obstacles. They all would watch me walk by with weird expressions on their faces, and whenever I was about to enter through the door, they¡¯d open it for me. Did I become some crime boss within the school? They treat me with fear and respect it seems. Also, for some reason, I¡¯ve been getting strange letters placed in my bag whenever I¡¯m separated with it for a moment. I¡¯ve read some of them, and it seems like I¡¯ve become some sort of target for multiple people. Most of them were similar to this; ¡®Dear Aria Brynhildr, I¡¯ve had my eyes on you ever since the first day you removed those bandages. I have something very important to say to you behind the school building at the end of the day. Please spare a moment of your time to come and see me. Sincerely, Your Secret Admirer.¡¯ I think it¡¯s a trap for them to jump me, don¡¯t you? I often got letters like these in my previous life, where it lead to several thieves trying to rob me, or groups of mercenaries trying to get rid of me. Never ended well for them, but I¡¯m pretty tired of this kind of stuff. So I didn¡¯t go that day, and just went straight home. I got them as well, today, but I casually just burnt them during lunch on the roof. No need to read more suspicious letters, so I¡¯ll just dispose of these useless threats. If they have an important announcement, say it to me in person. Is it really that hard to speak it out loud? Anyway, I arrive at the arena, and enter the giant colosseum. I find a set of descending stairs, and walk down two floors. There¡¯s a sign that tells me which rooms are in which directions, and the room Jiriko told me was at the end of the hall. I proceed to enter through, and as he told me, there is a person already inside, sitting cross legged while waiting for me. ¡°You¡¯re already here? That was earlier than what the old man told me.¡± She said, and stood up to walk towards me. She was quite a beautiful girl, with long, flowing black hair and hazel eyes. She looked as young as a 16 year old girl, with a height of 1.6 meters and the figure of a model. If I wasn¡¯t told earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have guessed that she was also an Adventurer. ¡°What a pretty little thing you are. So you want to become a special [Gun Knight], huh?¡± She says, examining my body closely. She pinches my cheeks, touches my arms, and looking at my legs. It¡¯s starting to feel a bit uncomfortable, but I have no idea what to do about it. After touching my body all over, she pouts for some reason. ¡°You¡¯re seriously not reacting to this? What are you, a heartless, emotionless machine?¡± She suddenly says. ¡°¡­?¡± I tilt my head in response, confused about what she¡¯s talking about. ¡°Seriously? Such an adorable girl is a total buzzkill¡­¡± she mutters to herself. Did I disappoint her already? ¡°Ah, whatever, let¡¯s get started. Here, catch.¡± She throws something at me, and when I caught it, I see that it¡¯s a dagger with a blade made with some sort of white metal. Suddenly, as soon as I catch it, she lunges right at me and swings her own dagger downwards right at me. I sidestep it and thrust mine right at her throat, intending to kill. If someone attacks me without any hesitation, then I will do the same. She deflects my thrust with a second dagger in her left hand. Just like Jiriko told me, she¡¯s a dual-wielding fighter. After deflecting my thrust, she jumps back, and then drops both of her weapons to ground, raising both of her hands up. ¡°Nice job. So you do know how to fight in close combat, and with a dagger, huh? That makes things easier for me.¡± She says with a smile. ¡°¡­test?¡± I ask her. ¡°Obviously.¡± Her voice comes from behind me, and she suddenly grabs my chest from behind. The woman in front of me suddenly disperses like dust into the air. It seems like she used illusion magic to trick me. ¡°If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn¡¯t even have given you a weapon, you know?¡± I immediately break out of her grip and push her away. ¡°Completely flat¡­ just like a kid¡­¡± She mutters while making strange movements with her hands. ¡°¡­I¡¯m 8.¡± I say to her. It seems that Jiriko hasn¡¯t told her my age, so I say it myself. ¡°¡­wait, what!? You¡¯re 8 years old, and look like that!?¡± She yells suddenly. I nod in reply, and she just watches me with her mouth opened. ¡°What the heck is going on in here?¡± Jiriko appears at the door, done with his cleaning. ¡°Jiriko! You didn¡¯t tell me the adorable little girl was a kid! You¡¯re trying to turn me into a pedophile, aren¡¯t you!?¡± She suddenly yells at him. ¡°What, did you try to grope her too, you perverted [Assassin]? You seriously need to get rid of that habit of yours. Besides, you¡¯re supposed to be training her!¡± He pinches his forehead after saying this, becoming irritated. ¡°But, but, she¡¯s just so cute! I couldn¡¯t resist you know!? If I had known she was only 8, I wouldn¡¯t have gone down this path!¡± ¡°What, the path of a pervert? You¡¯re way deep into that already. Just accept it and move on. I brought you here to train her, not to grope her.¡± After going back and forth with this exchange, they finally stop and begin with my training. ¡°Anyway, this perverted woman here is Yuuna, who¡¯s going to help you train with dual wielding a weapon and a gun.¡± Jiriko introduces me to her. The girl smiles and at me and waves, but I don¡¯t reply. ¡°Gah, what a killjoy. So let¡¯s start the dual-wielding right away, shall we? Aria, pull out the gun you have.¡± ¡°Wait, already? This is way too fast no matter how I see it.¡± ¡°It seems like she¡¯s already gotten combat experience somehow, and she already knows how to use the dagger, so we¡¯re going to go straight into it.¡± She explains to him. I nod in agreement, and pull out the [Magnum] I brought with me. This time, I brought the [BLC-90], the strongest [Magnum] I can handle with one hand. ¡°So, which hand are you more comfortable with?¡± She asks me. ¡°¡­ambidextrous.¡± I tell her. ¡°Wow, weren¡¯t you born with a bunch of talents? Okay then, in that case, we¡¯ll just swap between both hands every now and then. For now, hold the gun in your right hand, and the dagger in your left.¡± After that, she begins to teach me different stances, and made me spar with her to practice my battle technique. We continue in this manner until class ends, and I¡¯m able to at least fight with the gun in hand, but nothing as extravagant as using [Gun Magic] in the midst of combat, or immediately changing grips to strike with the handle of the gun. I am learning slowly though, so this will help me greatly in the future. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Aria, come here for a bit.¡± Avin calls for me after [Adventurer Studies] ended. ¡°You¡¯ve been called to the principal office, so just go there right away. Do you know where it is?¡± I nod my head. How do I know where it is? Well, I climb by the window every time I go to the roof, an area where I¡¯m usually cautious around so I don¡¯t get caught by him. I leave the classroom, and head to the fourth floor of the school building. In the center of the hallway, stood two large, fancy wooden doors that lead to the principal¡¯s office. I walk up to them, but before I can knock on it, they open by themselves. Inside the room, there were two sofas in the center of the room with a glass table in between. Several paintings were hung on the wall, a bookshelf in the corner of the room that was completely filled up. There was a desk at the end of the room, where a figure sat in a leather chair, looking right at me. The person was a man with short, brown hair, with brown eyes. His face looked as if he didn¡¯t shave for weeks, and his clothes were casual wear. Is this guy seriously the principal? ¡°Oh, hey there. You must be Aria, right?¡± He suddenly says with a smile on his face. I nod in confirmation, and he claps his hands together. ¡°Alright! Peria told me about you, and your supposedly high status. She also said that you¡¯d probably want to join the tournament but couldn¡¯t, because you wanted to avoid attention.¡± So she was the one who tattled on me. I¡¯ll pay her back twice fold in the future. ¡°I want to help, you out, you know? But first, I want to ask a question. Why are you trying to avoid attention?¡± He went straight to the point already. This is way too fast. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°¡­exposure.¡± I respond quietly, but he heard me anyway. ¡°Exposure? Of your status? Why are you afraid of that, then? What are you trying to avoid exactly?¡± He asks far too many questions in one breath. ¡°¡­complications.¡± I reply with one word, again. ¡°Complications for the future, huh? So basically, you don¡¯t want to be used by others?¡± I nod in reply to this, confirming his words. ¡°Such a simple matter, I think I can fix it for you. How about this, I got connections to the royal family, you know? If you fight for our school, and gain us prestige, I will make sure no one tries to touch you in the future.¡± What a nice sounding offer. Too bad it was way too damn suspicious. Who the hell in their right minds would accept a strange request like this right away? ¡°¡­no.¡± I say. ¡°I guess it sounded too good, huh? Let me rephrase that.¡± He suddenly stands up, runs his hand through his hair, puts on a purple mantle with gold linings, and faces me. A blue aura emerges from him, and hits me head on. I feel his mana pressuring me, and I¡¯m forced onto my knees. This man, he was an [Immortal Tier] adventurer! In order for a mana leak to force it¡¯s pressure on someone else, it required their intelligence to be at least 3 times higher to do so. That means his intelligence was at least over 1,800 to force me to my knees. ¡°As an [Immortal Tier], [S-ranked] adventurer, I, Rend Nytefoul, the [Royal Wizard of Sykerion] promises in the name of the [System] that I will prevent any kingdom from scouting you out, and that you will have no obligations to anyone during your six years. Upon failure, I will pay the price with my life. Aria Brynhildr, do you accept the [Soul Contract]?¡± Suddenly, a blue light flashes brightly in front of me, and when it fades, an ethereal, blue screen appears in front of me by the [System]. It read; ¡®Soul Contract has been proposed. Do you accept?¡± Along with that, the exact words he spoke was shown under those words, displaying what he just promised to do. At the end, it displays the penalty of being unable to fulfill this contract. The penalty for this one, was [Death]. The [Royal Wizard of Sykerion], huh? This guy sounds like a powerful figure in this world, and here he was making a life-or-death contract. This was an extremely convenient thing, a promise with the [System] acting as witness. But I only want to know one thing. ¡°¡­why?¡± I ask. ¡°Hahaha, well, I can¡¯t tell you much at all. The only thing I can say is that someone called in a forced favor for me to do this. If I say any more than that, he¡¯ll probably kill me, hahaha!¡± He laughs too cheerfully despite talking about the possibility of him dying. ¡°I can say one thing though. This guy who called in the favor, wants to see how far you can get as an [Adventurer]. If there¡¯s a kingdom that holds you down, then that won¡¯t happen, right? Based on what I¡¯ve been told by Jiriko and Peria, you¡¯re a ¡®walking monster in guise of a beautiful human girl.¡¯ If what they say is correct, then you¡¯ll most likely make it to the [Titan Tier], I¡¯d say so myself. Something like this, I myself want to see too, you know?¡± How much faith do these strangers have in me? They don¡¯t know me very well, yet, they¡¯re trying someone like this. What did I do exactly to have them want to try so hard for me? ¡°Anyway, just accept it. Then join the tournaments if you¡¯d like. With the [Soul Contract] up, I¡¯ll stop any kingdom from trying to scout you out and complicate your future. So feel free to go wild against these other schools. Show them that you¡¯re a monster no one can handle, and that you¡¯re going to become big in the future.¡± He¡¯s trying really hard to get me to accept, it did seem very suspicious. I think about what may happen if I accept. It has everything that I want for the future; no annoying powers trying to stop me, no obligations to the person helping me, and all I pretty much had to do was gain prestige for the school. Also, this man was supposedly a powerful figure, who''s risking his life to do this for strange reasons that are most likely untrue. That''s the only suspicious part, but I doubt he''ll be able to take advantage of me with these kinds of conditions. Besides, even if he does somehow break this promise, I only avoided exposure because I didn¡¯t want kingdoms to annoyingly stalk and scout me. If it inevitably leads to that, I¡¯ll just kill anyone who bothers my every day life. So, let¡¯s go with this offer. I nod to him, and press the accept button on the screen in front of me. It disappears, and a bracelet appears on the principal¡¯s wrist. ¡°So, this thing on my wrist will kill me as soon as I break the contract. Now that¡¯s over with, you¡¯re pretty much ready to just do whatever you like. No one will stop you, harass you, or anything like that. Because if they do, they¡¯ll deal with me or I¡¯m the one that¡¯s going to die. Hahaha!.¡± He laughs as he says. This guy is way too damn cheerful, even more so than Thoth. ¡°Anyway, just go on with registering into the tournament. No matter what you do, I¡¯ll be backing you up. Even if it¡¯s a forced favor from someone else, I¡¯ll give it my all to help you. So go wild, alright? Beat down anyone that¡¯s unlucky enough to be paired up against you, got it?¡± He says with a thumbs up. I nod at this, affected by his positivity. ¡°¡­Thank you.¡± I say, and leave the room immediately. I smile to myself as I walk away, heading towards the arena. With something as reliable as the [System] here to create a promise that guarantees my future as a lone adventurer, I can go wild it seems. I won¡¯t have to hold back in the tournament, and I¡¯ll be fighting against Thoth with all my strength when the time comes. A feeling of excitement begins to well up within me, ready for the tournament in three days time. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Third person perspective: That night, four people met up at a bar in the middle of the city. Three of them were directly helping Aria, while the fourth was the one who made them do it. ¡°I got it done. She¡¯s part of the tournament now, and I got the [Soul Bracelet] on me right now. I¡¯m kind of scared of screwing up though, it¡¯s going to kill me, you know? I was hoping I wouldn¡¯t resort to this.¡± Rend reported this information to the fourth man at the bar, sitting right across him. ¡°She¡¯s also learnt the basics of [Projectile Magic] for [Small Weaponry].¡± Jiriko reports as well. Although this was supposed to be a favor called in by the man, Jiriko was honestly having a good time hanging out with the girl. He did feel a bit of fear for the girl, though, due to her prowess in learning new abilities. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. What about you, Yuuna?¡± The fourth man asks. The girl was unusually quiet tonight, sipping her beer in a reserved manner. This was completely unlike of her, who¡¯s usually energetic and commenting about other girls in the bar. ¡°That girl, what exactly is she? I¡¯ve been told that she was a fast learner, and I was surprised that she was able to learn her dual-wielding in a day. But that girl, she¡¯s dangerous.¡± She says. ¡°That¡¯s something I haven¡¯t heard. Explain.¡± The mysterious man demanded. ¡°You told me that she was a greenhorn in combat. You couldn¡¯t have been more wrong. That girl, she¡¯s a merciless warrior. When I tested her reaction speed, she side stepped my attack, as anyone normally would. After that, any person¡¯s normal reaction is to step away to put distance between them and their attacker. This is because they usually try and communicate with them to determine the reason of the attack. That girl, on the other hand, took a step forward, and thrusted her dagger right at my neck without hesitation, ready to kill me without a second thought about why I did it.¡± She explained the events before Jiriko came in, stating her thoughts about Aria. ¡°Even during the spars, although she didn¡¯t try anything that may have killed me, her every attack would have disabled or maimed me if we were in serious combat. When I look at her eyes, they were void of emotion. It was as if she was put into a state of combat, where she became heartless. That¡¯s not something you¡¯ll see in an 8 year old, but in a veteran soldier who¡¯s witnessed the death of thousands in front of him.¡± A hint of fear was now apparent in her voice, obviously scared of her next encounter with the girl. ¡°Ho, is that right?¡± The mysterious man says with a hint of amusement in his voice. ¡°Even Jiriko isn¡¯t blind enough to miss something like that.¡± She turns to the man she just referred to, who had his eyes down at his drink. ¡°I¡¯ve said it several times myself. She¡¯s a monster in guise of human. Something that cannot be tamed. I¡¯m keeping watch of her to try and positively influence her, so that she doesn¡¯t use her strength against our world. I believe as long as we do not try to chain her, then nothing negative will come out of this. So be careful of what you do, because right now, you¡¯re leading her like a horse. Don¡¯t try and force a horse into water.¡± Jiriko glares at the fourth man as he says that. ¡°Like, I, said, don¡¯t worry about that. I know my limitations, and I really only want to repay my favor to Hana.¡± He says with a playful tone in his voice. ¡°I¡¯ve only talked with her once, so I can¡¯t say much, but we¡¯re all taking this negatively. Think of it this way, after she graduates from the academy, she¡¯ll go on and conquer worlds as if it¡¯s just a hobby for her. She¡¯ll turn Sykerion from the weakest world to the strongest, and all we have to do is just let her do as she wants, right?¡± Rend says. ¡°Which is my intention completely. The two of you are over thinking it. She¡¯s not a weapon of mass destruction that will self destruct. She¡¯s still Human just like us, so she won¡¯t go around randomly killing off other people. Most likely, as Rend stated, she¡¯ll head to other Dungeon Worlds and conquer them herself.¡± The mysterious man laughs, and Rend follows along. After that, the man leaves the three of them, heading out into the city. Jiriko and Yuuna are still worried for the future of Aria, and what¡¯s to be expected of it. They decide to try their best to positively influence her, so that she won¡¯t go down a hateful path. Will she be the new [Hero] of the Humans, or the new [Demon Lord] that slays them? It was a possibility that was stuck in their minds, and they couldn¡¯t get rid of. Fortunately for them, even though they don¡¯t know this, Aria didn¡¯t care about that kind of stuff and was going to just explore different worlds in search of something ¡®fun.¡¯
Chapter 22 coming right up after I proofread it. Please be patient! :) Chapter 22: The Day Before the Tournament Chapter 22: The Day Before the Tournament ¡°Aria! Guess who¡¯s here~?¡± My mother bursts into my room, yelling out loud. I stay in bed, not wanting to get out. Right after my mother¡¯s voice, though, came a voice I was very familiar with. ¡°Hey Aria! Let¡¯s go out and play~!¡± Thoth¡¯s voice resounds through the room. I slowly get up from my bed, and look at the two bundle of energies in my room. As soon as they look at my appearance, though, they just stood there silently. I wasn¡¯t wearing anything besides a pair of panties, because I felt that it would be more comfortable doing so. Honestly, I hate sleeping with clothes on because it¡¯s too stuffy and hot. It seems like the sight of me in my underwear was too shocking for them though? I mean, if it could shut up these two, then there must be something wrong with my appearance. ¡°¡­good morning?¡± I ask them, trying to break the silence. ¡°Dear, what are you doing!?¡± My mother immediately yells after I ask that. ¡°Show some modesty! Since when did you start sleeping like this!?¡± She tries to start lecturing me, but Thoth immediately pushes her out the room and locks the door. Then, she turns to face me and says, ¡°Aria. Never, ever, sleep like this outside of your house.¡± Her voice sounded extremely serious, and I tilt my head to ask why. ¡°Because if you do, you¡¯ll kill the men and maybe some woman by the sight.¡± ...I seriously looked that bad, huh? Whatever, I ignore her comment and get out of bed to dress myself. Immediately I hear a squeal from Thoth who turns away from me. ¡°Put some clothes on already!¡± She yells at me. What did she think I was doing? In order to do that, I need to get to my wardrobe. And in order to get over there, I need to get out of bed, you know? Sometimes, Thoth can be a bit of an airhead, not thinking about these kinds of things. Well, I guess it made her cute somewhat. After putting on clothes, we both head downstairs, where my father made breakfast for four people. ¡°Hey, Thoth. Would you like bacon and eggs for breakfast?¡± He asks, despite already making it. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine with it!¡± She replies with a cheerful expression. She strikes up conversations with my mother and father, talking about her school experiences, when she suddenly brings up; ¡°Hey, hey, did you know, the [Fall Tournament] is starting tomorrow!¡± ¡°Ah, yes, it¡¯s that time of the year, isn¡¯t it, Hana?¡± It seems like my parents have forgotten about the event until she brought it up. ¡°Oh yeah~ there was something like that wasn¡¯t there?¡± My mother replies. ¡°Did you know, I¡¯m participating in it! I even have a team I can work with for the group events!¡± Thoth announces. She¡¯s going to drop that bomb real soon, wouldn¡¯t she? ¡°Is that so? Maybe we should go watch it, should we?¡± My father asks. ¡°Oh, that sounds amazing! I¡¯d love to see if you inherited any of your father¡¯s traits, Thoth!¡± She was getting excited for the tournament tomorrow, sparkles gleaming in her eyes. ¡°Also, not only am I participating, but Aria¡¯s joining in as well!¡± There¡¯s the bomb. My mother and father immediately freezes whatever they¡¯re doing upon hearing this. Then, they turn their heads in stiff movements to face me, with frozen smiles on their faces. ¡°Aria, what she had just said, is it true?¡± My mother asks me. ¡°¡­yes.¡± I admit. She squeals out in complete excitement, before grabbing my dad by the shoulders. ¡°Kieran, tomorrow, we¡¯re going to watch no matter what! Forget about that unnecessary research project you¡¯re working on for now! Our daughter¡¯s going to be in such an amazing event!¡± While she was distracted, I immediately leave the table with Thoth and head to the front door. We put on our shoes and open the door, where we see a girl with short, white hair standing right at my doorway. She makes eye contact with me, then with Thoth. ¡°¡­good morning¡­¡± she mutters out. ¡°I wanted to come hang out with you today, Aria¡­¡± A moment of silence goes between the three of us. ¡°¡­hey there! You¡¯re Raina, right?¡± Thoth says cheerfully to her. Her words surprised Raina for some reason, but she regains her normal expression not long. ¡°Yeah¡­ you¡¯re Aria¡¯s interpreter¡­ Thoth Farlite?¡± She replies. ¡°Yep, yep, that¡¯s right! I¡¯m happy that you remember me! We¡¯re just about to go downtown, do you want to come too?¡± She invites Raina cheerfully, which puts a smile on her face as she accepts. I¡¯m glad that Thoth had an outgoing, cheerful personality at times like these. She probably has way more friends than I do at school, probably being surrounded by people while I¡¯m being avoided. It kind of saddens me, thinking about it this way, but I forget about it immediately, replacing it with what I will do with my friends for the going out. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Here are your three sundaes, please enjoy.¡± The waiter says as he placed down a sundae for Raina, Thoth and I. We all decided to go to the same parfait shop I went to with Raina the other day, and all ordered different flavors. ¡°Aria! Give me your cherry~¡± Thoth demands, and I comply reluctantly. Upon seeing this, Raina gave me her cherry, which puts a smile on my face. ¡°You don¡¯t like whip cream?¡± Raina asks Thoth, noticing that she scooped it all out and put it on my sundae. ¡°Whip cream tastes a bit weird, you know? It¡¯s like they have flavor, but they don¡¯t?¡± Raina and I tilt our heads, confused by that answer. Even Thoth tilts her head after recalling her words. All three of our heads were tilted slightly, all of us confused. Then the two girls began laughing, while I just sat there not understanding why. After that, Raina and I split the bill because Thoth didn¡¯t bring any money with her. We leave the shop and Thoth suggests that we head to the mall, which we accept. As we walk around, she sees something and suddenly pulls my arm. ¡°Aria, look, they opened an arcade! There¡¯s an arcade now! Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go!¡± She says in excitement, and the three of us went to the arcade. We did several things in the arcade. We competed in racing games, both motorcycle and cars, where Raina wiped the floor with us completely. Then, we played some sort of dance game where we stepped on four directional pads embedded into some sort of platform connected to the machine. Thoth was the victor in this, because she cheated with her weird skill that allows her to instantly stop her steps and change them in a different direction. After that came shooting games, the events I dominated because I was the only one here with any actual practice with a gun. While they just fired all over the screen with trigger happy fingers, I actually killed my targets with the minimum amount of shots required. When we¡¯re completely satisfied with our time in the arcade, we leave after spending about 60 silver in total for it. I brought 2 gold coins with me this time, so we were alright for money. Upon leaving the arcade, Thoth immediately becomes excited about something. ¡°Hey, hey, check this out! It¡¯s a photo booth! Come on, let¡¯s all take a picture together! Let¡¯s go!¡± Sometimes, I wonder if this person really was the former [Demon Lord]. She¡¯s definitely acting like a normal active 8 years old girl, after all. I try imagining Thoth acting like this in her previous appearance, which kind of made me feel a bit sick. Raina and I are forced into the booth by Thoth, and we see a control panel that allows us to select the picture frame, add decorations to it, and we played around with it for a bit before taking our pictures. We put a heart frame, and added random sparkles in the photo. The three of us pose for the camera, which flashes several times, and finally prints some pictures out. Six in total came out. ¡°Okay then! Two for each of us, be sure to keep it in a safe place! These are precious memories, you know?¡± Thoth says to the both of us, and I stash mine in my pocket for now. After that, we went to several clothing stores and tried out different things for the each of us, buying some of the ones we really liked. By the end of the day, I spent nearly the entire 2 gold coins that I brought with me. That¡¯s 200 silver, which is quite a lot of money. We walk at the edge of the town when we hear screams of joy. I look to the direction it¡¯s coming from, and see an amusement park nearby. ¡°Next time, we should go there.¡± Raina proposes. ¡°Definitely! I want to ride all the roller coasters there, they look fun!¡± Thoth replies. I nod in agreement, and the plan is settled. Next time, we¡¯ll be heading to the amusement park. When evening came, we walked Raina home first, who thanked us for the day out. After dropping her off, we head towards Thoth¡¯s house. ¡°She¡¯s a nice girl.¡± Thoth says to me. ¡°¡­yeah.¡± I respond. ¡°Sadly, she¡¯ll be a rival in the future¡­ but I won¡¯t lose!¡± Thoth says something I don¡¯t understand, so I ignore it. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Anyway, you¡¯re ready for tomorrow, aren¡¯t you? Which events will you join?¡± She asked me. The tournament spanned for 3 days, the first days for group events, the second day had mostly individual events, while the last one had events that allowed teams and individuals to participate. The final event for each day will be an [Unique Event]. I¡¯ll probably be attending any free for all events, and the [1 v 1]¡¯s, but I can¡¯t really think of anything else to join. I wasn¡¯t part of any teams with my classmates, after all. ¡°¡­[1 v 1].¡± I tell her. ¡°Is that it? No way, come on, there are other things you¡¯ll be doing, right?¡± She asks me. ¡°¡­[Free for All]¡¯s.¡± The only other event I¡¯m doing. ¡°I knew it! So I have two chances to fight you head on! Be careful Aria, because I¡¯m not going to hold back one bit! I got a secret weapon for you when the time comes, so be careful¡­¡± she says eerily, sending chills down my back. I drop her off at her house, and she waves at me energetically as I walk away. As I walk back alone, I think about the possibilities of the future. Right now, I had a [Soul Contract] with a powerful figure in Sykerion, so that allows me to expose my abilities without having to worry about anything. I can graduate from school safely, without any threats that can be used against me. Now that I think about it, because of this, I don¡¯t have any obligations to the Student Council now, right? I think about whether or not I should cut ties with them, and decide not to. They weren¡¯t bad people, and they were respecting my wish of remaining alone, so they weren¡¯t disturbing me either. I also befriended a member of their group, which would make it even harder if I did such a thing. So I¡¯ll keep remaining as a ¡®hidden member¡¯ of the Student Council for now. This may change in the future, though. I eventually arrive home, where my parents stood at the front door waiting for me. Oh, I forgot that I left right after Thoth told them about my participation. I guess now I have a lot of questions to answer, huh? ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C The next morning, I wake up earlier than usual. I immediately get out of bed, and put on a t-shirt, jacket and short jeans. I tie up my hair into a pony tail, and then looked in my bag. Inside, was a sheathed dagger given to me by Yuuna, and the [BLC-90] from Jiriko. Weapons and armor were allowed in the tournament, but I decided not to bring any armor. I didn¡¯t have any, and even if I did, I most likely didn¡¯t need it. I pull out the two weapons from my bag, and hold them in each hand, switching them back and forth. All Saturday, I practiced at the [Kazaric Ravines] alone to train my dual-wielding, and I¡¯ve gotten to a decent point where I can use them as naturally as two normal melee weapons. The dagger I was given was called [White Edge], which was made for high speed thrusting instead of slashing. Its color was the opposite of the [BLC-90], which was a black magnum. ¡°Aria, are you awake?¡± My father suddenly knocks at the door, surprising me for a second. ¡°¡­yeah.¡± I reply while returning both weapons into the bag. He opens the door and enters the room, seeing me prepared for today. ¡°Excited, aren¡¯t we, my little angel?¡± He says as he sits down on my bed. He pats the area next to him, telling me to come sit with him. I comply, and when I sit down, he suddenly hugs me and begins rubbing my head. I like it whenever he does this, it feels nice. ¡°You know, no matter what happens out there, I¡¯ll be proud of you. Even if the blessing from the [System] didn¡¯t come, I would still love you as much as I do now. So, with that gift provided by the [System], you¡¯re no longer the disabled, weak little girl in the past. Now, all you need to do, is give it your absolute best. Got it?¡± He gives me encouragement, which puts a smile on my face as I nod in reply. ¡°That¡¯s my girl. Okay then, let¡¯s eat breakfast real quickly. Your mom wants to head there early, so we could be the first ones into the [Arena].¡± He says, and stands up. I grab my bag and follow him down the stairs. My mother was already down there, wearing a tank top with a plaid shirt over it, with long, dark blue jeans. Her breasts were seriously being emphasized by that tank top, though. I really don¡¯t want to inherit those. My father cooks us all a quick breakfast, before the three of us leaves the house and walks to school. We haven¡¯t done this since the very first day, which gave a bit of a nostalgic feeling. I walk ahead of my parents as they discuss what they expect to see in the tournament, and asks me which events I¡¯ll be in. They expected the [1 v 1], but my mom was completely surprised when I mentioned the [Free for All]¡¯s. My mother still thought of me as her delicate, little girl after all, so it would come as a surprise if someone like me is participating in such a mess of a battle event. We reach our destination, and it looks like we aren¡¯t the only ones who wanted to arrive early. Several people are already swarming through the gates, heading towards the [Arena] of the school. We enter through gates, and when we enter the [Arena], it seems that participants enter directly into the [Arena] while spectators are redirected towards the seats. I part ways with my parents, and enter the large colosseum, right into the large battle field that these bloody events will take place in. Within the large, circular battlefield, students were all gathered into large areas based on which school they came from. My school was at the far end of the [Arena], and as I walked there, I caught the attention of many, many students who immediately cleared a path for me to get to my school. They all stared at me strangely as well, and remained distant from me. Was I so scary that I already made students from other school fear my presence at first sight? I felt a bit depressed thinking about this, but I forget about it immediately and enter the area my group¡¯s supposed to be in. I recognize several of my classmates there, who were all extremely surprised to see me attend this tournament, but none of them approached to ask me about the reason why I am attending. Even the sixth-years students maintained their distance from me. During this time before the tournament started, participants are supposed to open the [Duel System] in their mind and join the tournament. I recite it in my mind, and a green screen appears in front of me, very different from the usual blue screen I see. On the green screen that came up, there were four options that lined up vertically. The options were; Set Up Duel Set Up Tournament Join Tournament View Tournament I tapped the third option, which changed the screen completely. Now, it displays something like a [Lobby List] that contains the tournaments that are active in my area. When I select the only tournament on it, the [Inter-school Fall Tournament], the screen flashes a bit and several other screens open and close extremely fast. I could barely catch a glimpse of the text for each screen, but apparently it confirmed my identity and allowed me to join the lobby. Then, a list of [Events] appeared, and I could select which ones I could join by selecting it, and pressing [Join Event]. For the first day, these were the options; [3 v 3 Battle] [5 v 5 Battle] [10 v 10 Battle] [Team Death Match] [Team Capture The Flag] [King of the Hill] The first three options randomly put participants from every school into teams, while the team events allows participants to create their own group beforehand and join in. I don¡¯t join the first three events, because I hated the idea of being matched with random people. I don¡¯t join the team events, because I don¡¯t have a team. Instead, I decide to participate in the final event. The [King of the Hill]. After confirming my participation, all I can do now, is wait. After about an hour passed, the tournament looks like it¡¯s about to start, because in the center of the [Arena], a large stone platform was being erected. In the center of it, was the principal I just spoke to the other day. He actually shaved his face for this event. The students around me were all prepping themselves up, excited for the event. A huge majority of them were freshman, so it¡¯s most likely their first time here. I was very excited myself, even though I should already be used to things like this from my previous life. The crowd cheers wildly, and they all go silent when the principal raises his hand, motioning them to quiet down. Then, he pulls a mic out of his jacket, and raises it to his mouth. He speaks the words that officially starts these three days of battle, causing everyone in the arena to cheer wildly. ¡°Welcome, to the [Inter-School Fall Tournament]!¡±
Sorry for the cliffhanger, but get excited for the next few chapters. Finally, Aria will expose her strength to the world! Btw, I was thinking about revamping the first 9 chapters, opinions, anyone? Chapter 23: The First Day of the Tournament Chapter 23: The First Day of the Tournament ¡°Welcome, to the [Inter-School Fall tournament!¡± The crowd goes completely wild again, and the students around me join in the cheers. After everyone quiets down a bit, the principal continues. ¡°As you all know, this is a bi-annual event that tests the abilities of students that wishes to become an adventurer in the future. This first tournament, will only allow students of their first and final year of education within their schools to take part. This is to show the potential of all our newer students, and the results of the students that have been here for all six years of education.¡± ¡°Beforehand, these tournaments had several rules to ensure safety and no death. Now, after 44 years of enforcing these rules, we now have the support of the [Duel System]. So no longer will these children have to hold back in these battles! No longer will it end during bloodshed! Now, they can battle to their hearts content, and show us the power that they hold within them!¡± ¡°For the next 10 hours, we will host 11 events in total. The first five events will be separated into events for the rookies and for the experienced students. The final event is a unique one that does not require a team to join. The rules will be explained as it comes. So for now, everyone, welcome to the 45th [Inter-School Fall Tournament], no holds barred! Let the tournament begin!¡± And the entire colosseum explodes with cheers, everyone excited to finally see these battles fought without restriction. All the participants that aren¡¯t joining in the [3 v 3] event is brought into the underground rooms of the colosseum to wait and warm up. Students from every school occupied a huge majority of the rooms. They occupy them as teams, groups of friends, and cliques that have the same classes. Heck, even students who weren¡¯t participating in the tournament in general were here, and students ranging from all six years are occupying these rooms. I go to the lowest underground floor and head to the room farthest from the stairs, room 7025. When I enter the room, I turn on the lights and lock the door behind me. I pull both weapons that were being kept in my bag, and stand in the center of the room. I take a stance, before casting [Light Magic] on the room around me. It turns into a dark, icy cave that resembled the [Dungeon Master]¡¯s room in the [Kazaric Ravines]. Shadows appear behind the thin, icy walls, and monstrous growls begin to surround me. The spell I just used is called [Replicate Memories], which allows me to recreate scenes of the past so I can live through them again. It¡¯s not a perfect spell, there are many flaws to it, but it suited purposes related to combat practice such as this. I aim my [Magnum] at the closest shadow behind the walls of ice, before they burst through and attack me just like that day. A [Strongarm] bursts through the wall of ice that I¡¯m aiming at, and I fire at the head accurately before it even gets the chance to roar. It dies immediately, and I turn behind me to fire at another [Strongarm] that came through the walls. One of the flaws of this spell is that it won¡¯t recreate anyone that has access to the [System], therefore, I can only replicate monsters in this spell. So right now, I don¡¯t have Thoth behind me to cover my back. I kill two more [Strongarms] before the wave of Felines come along to try and circle around me. I fire at them as well, and whenever they were able to get close, I would thrust the dagger in my left hand right into their throats and slam them onto the ground. I continue on with this manner, taking out the horde of Rats, the swarms of bats, and the rest of the monsters that came to kill me. At the end of it all, I killed over 40 of these monsters without suffering a single wound. Now, the grand finale came. A loud roar resounded throughout the entire dungeon, before a large figure crashes through the wall of ice behind me. In front of me, light emerges from the center of the room, summoning the [Dungeon Master] of this dungeon. Before hand, I fought against the [Dungeon Master] alone and nearly died for it. Now, this time, I will slay both the [Frozen Viper], and the [Yeti] on my own. The snake hisses at me, and right away, I fire an [Inferno Bullet] right into it¡¯s mouth. Behind me, I hear the [Yeti] running straight at me. I turn my body around immediately, and fired at the [Yeti]¡¯s leg using [Stone Shrapnel Bullets]. The bullet bursts mid flight, turning into a cluster of flying, stone shards that shreds the legs of the [Yeti], stopping the charge and causing it to fall. I run up to it, and leap on the [Yeti]¡¯s back, before thrusting the [White Edge] right into the neck and causing a deep incision. In the corner of my vision I can see the [Frozen Viper] has already finished repairing itself, and about to charge at me with high speed. Before it could, I thrust the barrel of my [Magnum] right into the incision I made, and fired it using [Fire Bullets]. Blood is a flammable substance, and considering that the [Yeti] was a living creature, setting fire to blood inside any creature¡¯s body will cause it to combust from the inside. Of course, because it¡¯s a [Hidden Boss], this won¡¯t easily kill it, but it will slowly cause its body to burn into ashes if he doesn¡¯t find a way to extinguish it. I leap off the monster¡¯s back as the snake flies right through the area I was just standing in, and I fire at it consecutively using [Inferno Bullets], destroying a huge portion of the body along with burning the fur of the [Yeti] which was right underneath it. The snake is shattered into several pieces, and I stop all of them from healing by firing an [Inferno Bullet] at every single one of them. The [Frozen Viper] that nearly killed me was defeated in a single minute, and I still haven¡¯t suffered a wound. The [Yeti] that Thoth tried so hard to kill was laying on the ground, rolling back and forth in pain, unable to extinguish the fire. I walk up to it while it was rolling wildly, and before it tried to roll onto me with its flaming body, I slam the [White Edge] right between its eyes, all the way to the hilt. I hear the sound of its skull shattering from the force of the thrust, and its movements stop immediately. Behind me, lays thousands of shards that used to be the feared [Dungeon Master] of the [Kazaric Ravines]. In front of me, was a burning corpse that was an existence stronger than the [Frozen Viper], the [Yeti]. Both of these [Immortal Tier] monsters fell in a short amount of time against me, despite the fact that I only activated one out of the hundred marks on my back. [Gun Magic] was truly a powerful thing. The scenery around me dispels itself, and reverts to its original room which is now in a state of rubble and destruction. There were several holes in the wall from gunshots, a pile of stone shrapnel at the edge of the room, and several craters in the ground from my [Inferno Bullets]. Well, the magic I used only placed an illusion around me, it doesn¡¯t exactly protect the real world from my attacks. I didn¡¯t expect to deal this much damage though, to the point where I can destroy a room which is supposedly durable enough to handle a fight between two [A-ranked] adventurers. From what I¡¯ve been told, though, the rooms can easily be repaired with magic, so I decide to just leave the room this way and grab my bag in the corner of the room. Surprisingly, it was completely unharmed from the destruction around it. I put my [Magnum] and my dagger into the bag, and unlock the door to exit the room. Leaving behind destruction from my warm up, I leave the room and proceed to the stairway. Every other room besides mine had a red outline on the door, meaning that they were occupied. It looks like the lower floors are finally being occupied, but I¡¯m already done with my warm up, so I don¡¯t need a room now. As I reach the stairs, a group of students from another school sprint down, and one of them sees the green outline of the room I just left. ¡°Lucky! There¡¯s an available room for us, guys!¡± One of them yells, and for some reason, they begin racing to get to it, ignoring me completely. Only one person calmly followed them from behind, walking down the stairs slowly. As I ascended the the stairs, our eyes met as we passed by, but I don¡¯t think anything of it. ¡°Stop.¡± He suddenly says out loud to me. I stopped ascending the stairs, and turn to face him, wondering what he wants. ¡°You¡¯re participating in the tournament?¡± He asks me. I nod in reply to him, and I can see his mouth curving slightly upwards. ¡°Are you strong?¡± Well, I¡¯m the strongest person in existence, but I can¡¯t say that. I also can¡¯t say I¡¯m weaker than him, because I¡¯m definitely not. ¡°¡­check room 7025.¡± I tell him, before ascending the stairs again. As I do so, I hear the voices of the other students that raced to the destroyed room. I focus my hearing with [Enhanced Detection] as I walk up the stairs, listening to their reactions. ¡°Holy crap, what the hell happened in here!?¡± I destroyed the room, duh. ¡°What in the world could have possibly destroy a training room this badly?¡± My [Magnum], and [Gun Magic] was the reason for that. ¡°It¡¯s like an [Immortal Tier] adventurer just walked in here, tore the room apart, and walked away!¡± Well, I¡¯m not even an adventurer at all yet, so you¡¯re completely off the mark. ¡°¡­that girl...¡± The voice of the boy who called out to me muttered that quietly, and I couldn¡¯t hear the rest of what he said. Well, it seems like he found his answer, even though I wasn¡¯t able to hear what it was. I stop eavesdropping on them and head to ground floor, and watch the current event in the colosseum. It was the [10 v 10] for the sixth year students, and the [Arena] was separated into 4 smaller sections to have four matches going on at the same time. Each section had a different environment or location, which was probably created using the same method I saw at the castle for the mock battle. I watch the mayhem through one of the many arch gates of the colosseum, but watching them from the ground strains my neck so I stop. I decide to check the leaderboards of the tournament on the [Duel System]. I recite it in my mind, and the green screen appears in front of me. Large scale tournaments with several events like these often had points to score the students and have them compete against each other on the leaderboard. Right now, two particular students were dominating the leaderboard, but they were both from different schools. [Zellaroth Orium], and [Pyrion Genada], they both have participated in the first two events, but Pyrion skipped the [10 v 10]. If I recall from [Adventurer¡¯s Studies] correctly, points are given out by the [Duel System] based on the amount of damage you deal to the enemy team, and how much you contributed to the objective. By default, a kill is 10 points, while points related to contribution is based on the objective. Considering that these two were in the lead with about 100 points each, they were definitely stronger than the rest of their age group. I heard Zellaroth¡¯s name being mentioned by Peria, but I don¡¯t recall hearing about a Pyrion. There are several possibilities of who he might be. He could be a dark horse among the sixth year students, he can be an overpowering freshman, or he could just be a total bastard and steal the final blow on every kill so far. That seems far more unlikely than the first two, but those options aren¡¯t the only possibilities. I can¡¯t be bothered to think too deeply about this, I¡¯ll just crush him if he joins the final event. That¡¯s just how it¡¯s going to be, and there really isn¡¯t anyone who could possibly stop me. I may sound completely overconfident about myself right now, but confidence is important when it comes to these events. You got to believe that you¡¯ll defeat your enemy, or else you¡¯ll just stand there too worried about losing. Instead of worrying about that, I¡¯d rather worry about how to kill the enemy. It seems far more efficient that way, and it was how I was in my previous life. ¡°Ladies and gentleman, now is the finals to the [10 v 10] for the sixth year students! Team 6 has been crushing all their opponents without losing a single one of their own, due to the efforts of Zellaroth! Team 4 on the other hand, had quite a few close calls, but they¡¯ve managed to persevere through every battle so far with their astonishing team work! Who will win the match this time; the lone wolf, or the wolf pack?¡± The announcer yells with an excited voice. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The battle field in front of me begins to shift, cracks emerging in it as the earth shifts to change the appearance of the combat area. The temperature begins to cool down, and trees begin sprouting from the ground, as the area above the arena begins to darken. The stone platform turns into dirt, and grass begins to sprout from it. The combat field has now completely transformed into a forest in the middle of the night. ¡°And here we are! The location for this battle will be the [Shadow Forest]! The selection already isn¡¯t looking too good for Zellaroth, because Team 4 will easily be able to set up a trap against him!¡± This guy is annoying. I¡¯d like to shut him up, but I can¡¯t. Both teams enter the forest through opposite sides, and a nostalgic ringing occurs throughout the arena to start the battle. The ringing was very similar to the [Bell of Atalin], which was placed in an extremely large clocktower that was erected in the previous capital. I heard that bell many times during a tournament there, so hearing it now really calms me. ¡°It looks like Team 4 has already begun working on an ambush, waiting for Team 6 in the center of the forest. Unaware of this, Team 6 is walking right into their trap!¡± I watch as this happen, and from what I see, there was a lone man leading a large group of people into the center of the arena. I assume this man was Zellaroth. He was man with a very large figure, with red hair and a scruffy beard that looks as if it had been grown for years. Honestly, if I didn¡¯t see him in here, I¡¯d think of him as a blacksmith rather than an adventurer. I was surprised that he wasn¡¯t holding a weapon, though even though he looked like the type who¡¯d carry around a war hammer and smash his enemies to death with it. Team 4 has prepared an ambush up, setting several lethal traps in one single area, in hopes that Zellaroth will walk right into it. It looks like their gamble was about to pay off, because Zellaroth walks right into center of all their traps and activated them. Several hidden explosions went off, and a magic trap created a pillar of fire that engulfs the man in flames. Stone spikes emerged from the ground around him, all aimed toward his upper body. Several stone walls were erected around the man, separating him from the rest of his team. Team 4 jumped into the area within the walls, trying to determine if the trap got him. They kept their guard up, while surrounding the pillar of fire that begins to extinguish itself. In the center of all those stone spikes, all those explosions, and the pillar of fire, was a crater. Within that crater, stood a lone man with his clothes in tatters. His entire body was completely colored dark red, and not a single wound was on his body. ¡°Oh my god! He actually survived every single one of those traps! What a monster he is, there isn¡¯t even a single wound on him after all of that! His body is red, though, for some reason. Is it some sort of skill that allowed him to endure everything Team 4 had to offer? He¡¯s never used anything like this before!¡± The announcer yells out. ¡°What¡¯s exactly going to happen now, though, now that he¡¯s separated from his team? Right now, he¡¯s locked up all alone against 10 other adventurers with abilities equivalent to any [A-ranked] adventurer!¡± Right now, I¡¯ll search a spell that allows me to block a specific person¡¯s voice. ¡°No, it¡¯s not Zellaroth that¡¯s locked in there with them. They¡¯re the ones stuck in there with him.¡± Another announcer, who sounded much more calmer, began talking. Thank god he was here, I¡¯d rather listen to him instead of the first guy. Anyway, what he just said was completely true. I knew the skill that Zellaroth just used. I was the one who developed it, after all. It was the skill, [Titan Strength].
Titan Strength
Multiplies and increase the caster¡¯s strength by 50 times their original.
Due to the high mana cost, many people can¡¯t afford to use it beyond a minute. It¡¯s a skill that was made for emergency situations, and it can be used for offensively, or defensively to survive through dangerous attacks. Zellaroth in this case, used it to endure the traps that were set on him, but I doubt that he had the mana pool to keep it up for beyond thirty seconds. Enduring for five seconds was all he needed, though. His skin fades back to its original color, and suddenly, everyone in Team 4 is put into a state of fear. Most likely, Zellaroth released an aura of bloodlust that they¡¯ve never experienced before, because I can see a bloodthirsty look in his eyes as he takes a step towards the nearest person. He tries to escape, but can¡¯t because of the stone walls that surround them. Just like the second announcer said, they were locked with him, and they were going to pay the price for it. He ruthlessly killed all of them, making sure they all died a bloody death somehow. Having their limbs torn, using the stone spikes to stab and cut them, he even punched through someone¡¯s chest, his bloody fist visible on the other side. Even though the [Duel System] guaranteed that participants will live in the end, I don¡¯t think it nullifies the pain from these deaths. This was a bit cruel to see. After this three minute scene of him killing Team 4 on his own, the bell rings again, marking the end of the battle. There were mixed reactions from the crowd. Some cheered for the bloody ending that Zellaroth gave, while others were remaining quiet due to fear of what they just saw. I was used to this kind of sight, so I didn¡¯t really feel anything myself. During the war, it wasn¡¯t uncommon to see a powerful demon massacre several soldiers on his own just like Zellaroth did. After that was over, the team events came up. Neither Pyrion nor Zellaroth joined these events, so other people were finally given a proper chance to win. Though in the freshman teams, Thoth¡¯s team was the dominant figure in the tournament. Thoth was strong, that was true, but unlike Zellaroth, she actually worked with her team to defeat the enemy. She was a captivating figure on the battle field, dancing around with a rapier in hand, defeating her enemies in a rush of thrusts. At the end of every battle, she¡¯d wave to the crowds and get several cheers for it. She was truly a charming person, I kind of wish that I was like her in my previous life. She participated in both team tournaments, winning both times and putting her name in third place on the leaderboards. I wasn¡¯t very surprised to see this, instead, I was pretty happy to see her doing this well. It looked like her stats were finally correcting itself to what they should be, because her speed and strength seemed much higher than what I saw in the [Kazaric Ravines]. She still hasn¡¯t shown her ¡®secret weapon¡¯ though, most likely keeping it a surprise when she sees me. ¡°Okay, ladies and gentlemen! Now, for the final event of the day, the unique event you are all looking forward to, the [King of the Hill]!¡± The crowd roars as the field shifts itself again, changing forms to match the event. The ground begins turning black, as random black obelisks began forming around the battle field. A pyramid erects itself in the center of the arena, which I assume is the hill, and there were stairs built into the pyramid itself to help ascend it. At the top of the two story pyramid, was a large, square arena which I assume is the area of competition. I recognize the material for this battle field. It was [Demon Glass], a material that most demons used in their buildings. Its durability was higher than any human structure, and in order to create it, you need to have magma and [Shadow Sand], two very dangerous substances that many would dare not to touch if they weren¡¯t a demon. The strength required to even crack it was 1,000. When destroyed, its shards are amongst the sharpest materials found in Sykerion. Many blacksmiths have tried forging a sword with this glass material, but the material in its liquid form released a deadly poison due to the [Shadow Sand] it¡¯s made from. There was only one piece of equipment ever forged with this material, but it costed the life of the blacksmith. It was the gloves that I wore in the battle against the [Demon Lord]. This arena was using a dangerous material for the battlefield, but no one was capable of dying under the [Duel System], and not many actually knows what the glass is, so they weren¡¯t worried at all. All the students participating in the event are currently standing at the edge of the [Arena]. I had both of my weapons holstered, and my hand was on the [Magnum], ready to pull it out. ¡°Everyone from both the freshman and the sixth years are allowed to join in on this event. Here are the rules of this game mode. First, at the center of the arena, is the [Hill]. The first person to get to the top of the [Hill] is the [King]. Only the [King] can get points for killing another participant. For every second a person spends as the [King], they gets two points. When someone becomes [King], they are required to stay on top of the [Hill] for it to have any valid effect. If the current [King] leaves the [Hill], or is forced off of it, the title is granted to a random participant standing on the [Hill]. In order to take the title of [King] from someone, you need to kill the title bearer. Participants that are killed will be revived 15 seconds after death to return to the battle. The event will last a whole 10 minutes. The points gained in this event will be added on to the leaderboard scores at the end.¡± The announcer explains the rules, which sounded really one sided against the [King]. Suddenly, I get an idea. This will definitely attract attention, and expose my powers, but it sounded like fun to me, so I don¡¯t really care. Everyone around the [Arena] begins prepping themselves, ready to take over the [Hill]. The announcer began counting down to start the event, and as soon as he said one, the bell rung. Instantly, every participant began sprinting straight to the hill, using every method they can. But when the first person reach the very bottom of the hill and look up, he was completely shocked. The same reaction came to every other person who reached the stairs. Even Thoth¡¯s expression was that of surprise. ¡°What just happened!? There¡¯s already someone at the top of the [Hill]!? It¡¯s only been five seconds since the bell just rung!¡± So the announcer can be heard by the combatants? That sounds stupid. Maybe it¡¯s exclusive to this event. ¡°Who is this mysterious girl!? She has not participated in any of the prior events, is this the first time she¡¯s entered!?¡± He yells. ¡°It appears so. This girl is from [Krystalis Academy], who has an unknown reputation among the students. Her ability in combat is also unknown, the only thing on her profile is that she¡¯s capable of magic.¡± The second announcer says calmly. ¡°Let me see that! Okay then, I got her name! Right now, the first [King] of the [Hill], taking it over on the sixth second since the start, is Aria Brynhildr!¡± He really does yell too much, this guy... What he said was true, though. Right now, I stood at the top of this pyramid, staring down at every other combatant below me. At the same time, I released my [Aura of the Heartless], an intimidating aura gives a warning of immediate death to all those that approach. Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t seem like Zellaroth or Pyrion were joining in this event, so I couldn¡¯t destroy their pride. But right now, I have about a hundred other students, all ready to be massacred upon reaching the top. As I stand at the top of the pyramid, I pull out the [BLC-90] holstered on my belt, and aim it down the pyramid at the boy who arrived first. I say four words slowly, and emphasizing each and every one of them. These four words will remain true until the end, and it will be how I show my resolve to everyone watching. ¡°I. Am. The. King.¡± I pull the trigger, fully prepared for the 10 minutes of bloodbath that''s coming up.
Sorry about no updates yesterday guys, I¡¯m considerable busy during the week ends. I¡¯ll try to get 2 or three out within the next 2 days, so stay tuned! Chapter 24: The King of the Hill Chapter 24: The King of the Hill ¡°I. Am. The. King.¡± I pull the trigger on my [Magnum] upon saying this, spilling first blood within 15 seconds since this event started. The bullet accurately pierces my target¡¯s head, and he falls immediately, dying on the spot. This action immediately forced the rest of the participants out of shock, and began climbing pyramid at a rapid pace. They were all showing such willpower, trying to go ascend despite feeling my [Aura of the Heartless], but they were all still affected by it. Even though they didn¡¯t have to worry about death, what they feared was the pain of death, because most of them felt it already in this tournament. Still, they continue to ascend the pyramid, determined to take me down. The area at the top of the [Hill] was about 20 by 20 meters large, a size that I assume is supposed to hold at least 10 people at once for a chaotic battle at the top of this pyramid. There are stairs in all four of the cardinal directions, so I had to keep an eye on every side. I stand at the top, ready to defend my title for the entire 10 minutes, prepared to crush anyone who tries to take it away from me. I aim my [Magnum] down the east stairs and rapidly fire down at the crowd of people trying to force their way up, some even pushing others back down the pyramid so they can reach the top faster. I don¡¯t want to use my [Gun Magic] now, because I want to see how long I can hide it for. If possible, I want to keep it as a trump card against Zellaroth, Pyrion or Thoth in the [1 v 1] tournaments. Eventually, 15 seconds after the first person began climbing, someone finally gets near the top of the pyramid in the south side. Unfortunately for him, I noticed him right away, and I sprint to where he¡¯s about to be, punching his chin with all my strength. I can feel his jaw shattering from the force of the punch, so I assume that¡¯s another kill for me. Another student was actually able to get on the square arena from the north side, and he runs up to me with a mace in hand, trying to bludgeon me from behind. I unsheathe my dagger from my belt, and swing it at his weapon. My strength was far greater than his, so the recoil from my deflection causes his weapon to swing back up. I use this chance to thrust my knife at an extremely high speed into his left shin, pulling back as he falls onto his knees. I kicked his chest and force him to fall down the pyramid, his body rolling down the stairs and crashing into other participants. This causes a chain reaction to make several of the other students fall back down, forcing them to restart their ascent. I continue on with this manner, punting off people who arrive at the top, and kicking down others who make it to the top. It seems like no other students here were anywhere near my level, as I stand my ground at the top of the [Hill]. Surprisingly, I haven¡¯t seen a certain ¡®someone¡¯ climb up here yet. I had no idea where she was exactly. ¡°This is unbelievable! No one can actually force this girl off the [Hill]! There are not been more than three people total standing at the hill at one point! She¡¯s been at this for a whole 2 minutes, yet, she shows no sign of exhaustion! Is she some sort of machine!?¡± I ignore the annoying man¡¯s voice, and continuing on with this manner. Suddenly, several fireballs fly by me, narrowly missing me. They came from the bottom of the hill, and it seems like they¡¯re trying to take me down from a ranged location. I aim the [Magnum] at their directions, and used [Enhanced Detection] in order to see them. I didn¡¯t fire the gun, though, because they were too far out of range for the bullet to actually hit. So now I need to defend my position as [King] with random spells coming from all directions. Finally, more than two people made it to the top of the hill using this small distraction. Four people total got on their feet, and they all surrounded me, before attacking me separately. It seems like two of these four were allies, because they coordinated their attacks at me accurately. One of them slashed his sword at my upper body, while someone else tried a sweep kick at the back of my knees. I lay low, dodging the sword slash, and slam my dagger into the knee of the leg coming at me. I twist the knife, and spun my body, pulling the poor victim¡¯s leg and swinging her around me. Using her as a human weapon, I slam her body into the swordsman, throwing the both of them off the [Hill]. I feel the wind behind me shifting greatly, and quickly dodge to the left, a blade of wind flying by where I was just standing. I land on my feet, but one of the remaining two participants swings his war hammer horizontally at me from the left. I throw my dagger up into the air, holster the [Magnum] and catch the hammer with my left hand. I forcefully pull it away from him, and with my right hand, I push him away as hard as I can, causing him to fly off the [Hill] and fall to his death. I catch the dagger I threw into the sky earlier, and now I was holding two melee weapons in each hand. A large war hammer in my left, a small dagger in my right. The final girl leaped at me from behind, using two shortswords for an overhead slash onto me. I turn my body at a speed she didn¡¯t expect, swinging the hammer in a wide arc. Before she could react, the sharp end of the head crashing into her side. The force of the attack sends her body down the pyramid, flying like a ragdoll. I drop the hammer after this, and pull out the [BLC-90] again. I spent too much time on these four, though, because even more people were now on the [Hill]. This time, it was 7 people total, all who seemed stronger than the average adventurer. The siege of magic was still coming as well, their accuracy getting better each time they cast a spell. I can either start using magic, or fight to the very limit of my abilities. This time, I¡¯m going to go with choice two. This time, I make the first move, going on the offensive. I raise my [Magnum] and fire three shots at three different targets. Two of them were able to dodge my bullets, while the third one just let his armor absorb the shot. It looks like the same one Thoth used during our expedition into the [Kazaric Ravines]. After firing those three shots, I dash forward and close the distance between myself and the group. They try to stop my advance by all attacking at once, but I was able to dodge all of them with my high speed. They didn¡¯t have any coordination with their attacks as well, so I was able to redirect the directions of some of their weapons to attack the other assailants. I make use of this advantage and force myself into the center of this group, and grab one of the people around me. I thrust the barrel of my gun at the left side of her chest, and fire it at point blank range. Her body becomes limp, and I holster both of my weapons before grabbing the corpse by the waist. I spin it around me and use it as a meat shield to block attacks from the warriors around me, the blood spraying all over me. A large fireball approaches from outside the pyramid, and I use the mangled body in my arms to block it, setting the corpse on fire. No, I don¡¯t feel bad at all using her body like this after death. Holding the flaming body by the legs, I swing it downward onto one of the other six adventurers. He tried to dodge it, but he was unable to move because the other adventurers were clusters near him. The burning corpse lands right on top of him, the weight causing him to fall on the ground with the body. He tries to push the body off of him, but I pull out my [Magnum] and fire at his arms. He screams out in pain, but I ignore him as I focus on my next attacker. The attacker dives right at me, hitting me in the chest, trying to knock me down with his weight. Unfortunately for him, I was strong enough to carry him. I catch him as his body crashes into mine, and I lift him above me. I throw him face first onto the ground, the force of the smash actually cracked the [Demon Glass], at the cost of the man¡¯s skull. The remaining four fighters all attacked me at once, but I dodge and deflect every single one of their strikes. Some of them try to use combat techniques to create feints and illusions, even increasing their speed and strength, but all for naught. One of the assailants make an over head swing with his sword at me, and instead of dodging it this time, I swing my [Magnum] right at it. [Magic Guns] are a very durable weapon. They¡¯re built to endure the powerful recoil from firing their projectiles, and to withstand the powerful [Gun Magic] that amplifies these projectiles even further. Considering that the weapon I had in hand was the [BLC-90], one of the more powerful [Magnums], this means that this weapon was extremely strong, and no normal weapon could cut or break it. This is why I swung my gun towards his sword. My gun completely shatters his weapon as it makes contact with it, and I place the nozzle right on his forehead, firing it. Before his body hit the ground, I turn to the next target and make a round house kick to his jaw, breaking it. His body goes flying across the ground and falls off the [Hill]. One of the two remaining people standing up here uses a combat technique, and his body blurs before he suddenly disappears. I aim the [Magnum] over my shoulder and I fire it twice, warm liquid splattering onto my hair. Not like it wasn¡¯t soaked with blood earlier. I turn to face the last two combatants, who were now completely scared of me. One of them screams and raises his palm open at me, firing a heavy bolt of wind to try and blow me off the [Hill]. The blast of wind hits me, but it doesn¡¯t send me airborne at all. I raise my [Magnum], and fire at the panicking man, killing him. The last girl just looks at me, shaking in place. ¡°¡­monster.¡± She whispers, as I walk up to her and make a front kick right at her chest, sending her flying off the [Hill]. She showed no signs of resistance at the end, which kind of disappointed me. I look around the [Hill], and see several students now standing at the top, looking at my blood covered body. They were all too scared to approach, so instead, I went to them. Diving straight into the middle of the group, I immediately massacre the cluster of participants who now begins to panic. They all begin to strike at me without any proper stance, technique, or tactic, they just wanted to make their nightmare gone. I easily dodged their attacks and countered them, slowly dwindling the numbers surrounding me. Revolving back and forth with using my dagger and [Magnum], I¡¯m simply just killing a pack of sheep around me as the wolf. Some of them were able to retain their calm, but instead of attacking, they refused to get any closer to me, knowing that approaching me will only mean their death. Dodge a slash, avoid a ball of fire, counter a punch, stab the neck, break the leg, use the corpse as a meat shield, redirect the spear into someone else, throw the guy into another fire ball that was aimed at me, fire my [Magnum] at the clustered group. I did all of that, and much more, continuously until there was literally a pile of bodies now on the [Hill]. I stood atop of the pile, blood completely covering me at this point. It¡¯s splattered all over my face, my t-shirt is soaked with it, my hair looks like it¡¯s been dyed red. It was all over me. There was no one left alive on the [Hill] except me, and no one else tried to climb the pyramid. Even the mages stopped casting magic at this point, giving up completely or having exhausted their mana pool. ¡°What an event this is! This event was created to have an intense battle for the title of [King] at the top of the [Hill], but this girl alone has held it for the past seven minutes! It¡¯s a one sided massacre from the [King]¡¯s side! What a shame that Zellaroth wasn¡¯t here, I would have loved to see how a battle between these two would play out!¡± As the announcer makes his comments, the crowd around the arena booms in excitement, their cheers louder than ever. ¡°Aria~¡± A playful voice comes from behind me, and the temperature at the top of the pyramid falls to freezing point. Another aura fills the arena other than mine, and I recognize it. The aura I gave out is a warning of death if you dare try to fight me. This aura, on the other hand, is the aura of destruction for everything around it. The [Aura of the Annihilation], something only one person in history should be able to emit. I holster my weapon, and slowly turn around. Behind me, I see a young girl, shorter than me, but of the same age. She stood there with a cold look in her eyes, despite the playful tone she just used earlier. Extreme bloodlust emerged from her body, along with her dangerous aura. There was a black armlet on her right arm, and mana is leaking out of it. It was the person I was waiting for the entire time, and it looks like her secret weapon was a magic item. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Wow, there are so many dead bodies on this [Hill]. There¡¯s like, more than 50 of them! Even at the bottom of the pyramid, there¡¯s bodies lying everywhere. Really, you can¡¯t just litter like that, you know? Clean up after your trash.¡± She says while stepping on them, walking toward me at a casual pace. Every body she steps on becomes engulfed in some sort of black fire, burning the body away completely without leaving any ashes behind. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re still holding back, though. No magic? That¡¯s no good, Aria. You ridicule your enemies that way, you know. It¡¯s like saying they¡¯re not worth it.¡± She stops right in front of me, and looks up at my face with a smile on her face. ¡°So, [Hero], you ready for round 2?¡± The former [Demon Lord] asks me in a voice that only me could hear. A second later, she thrusts something towards my stomach, but I was able to catch it with my bare hands. Catching it was a mistake, though, because I feel an extreme cold running through my hands, and I look down to see the cause. The object between my palms was a black blade, but it was colder than the ice of the [Frozen Viper]. I let go of it immediately and leap back, casting [Fire Magic] to try and remove the cold from my hands. There was no way I¡¯d be able to keep the ¡®No Magic Restriction¡¯ up against Thoth. I¡¯m forced to stay within the [Hill], so I couldn¡¯t exactly run away from Thoth. I unsheathe the [BLC-90] and the [White Edge], raising the gun to aim it at Thoth. As soon as I do so, she suddenly dashes up to me in zig zags at an extremely high speed, before I could even pull the trigger. She pulls her right arm back, and opens her palm. A pole of black ice forms in her hands, and she swings it down at at me. I swing my magnum at it, both weapons crashing into each other, but neither of them shatter. This black ice was stronger than what the [Frozen Viper] was made of. With that, Thoth¡¯s strength was somehow equal to mine, and I couldn¡¯t push her back. Suddenly, the force from her attack disappears, causing me to use too much strength and fall forward. With insane speed, she pulls back the pole of ice, and swings it into my left side, sending me rolling across the arena. I try to regain my balance and get back on my feet, but as soon as I do so, she¡¯s already in front of me, thrusting her pole right at my neck. I raise the [White Edge] as fast as I can, and hit the pole before it reaches my neck, redirecting it last second. As the pole scrapes by me, the force of the thrust causes Thoth to step forward, and I try to stab her as she¡¯s forced towards me. Unfortunately, I forgot about a certain skill she had, and I regret the move I make immediately. Her movements stop immediately, and she spins her body at a faster than my eyes can actually follow. Her pole makes another wide swing as it comes straight at my head. Before I know it, I¡¯m lying on the ground, my vision turning blurry. I try to stand up, and I hear the wind whistling around me. Even though I can¡¯t see her, I know she¡¯s in front of me right now. I count to two in my head, before teleporting 5 meters ahead of me. I rotate my body immediately, and raise my [Magnum], aiming at where I was just standing. Although my vision was still blurry, I was able to make out her figure, and I fire the gun right at her. I didn¡¯t just fire a normal bullet, though. I used [Gun Magic], and shot an [Inferno Bullet] right at her. I see her turn around and hit the projectile head on with the spear, the small bullet exploding in a 3 meter radius. I was barely out of range for it, but I can definitely feel the heat. ¡°I won¡¯t fall for your teleporting trick twice, you know?¡± A voice suddenly comes from behind me. I wasn¡¯t given the chance to even turn around, before I feel something hard hit the side of my head. I¡¯m sent flying, spinning in the air as I do so. The weapons in my hands slip out, as I feel my conscious fading in and out. Strangely, an urge to just stop thinking and completely destroy suddenly emerges from within me. This happened before, too, during the fight against the [Frozen Viper], and I lost control for a bit, tearing the snake about at the end with raw strength and stomping on it. I can¡¯t risk falling under something like that now. It seems like I can¡¯t keep holding one percent against Thoth. While my body was airborne, I put a single point of mana onto the tattoo on my back. A sudden rush of energy surges through my body, and the world suddenly feels like it¡¯s slowed down around me. I manage to control my movements while in mid air, flipping back and landing on my feet when I touch the ground. I land right at the edge of the [Hill], on the verge of falling off. In front of me, I see Thoth watching me with her cold eyes, before lunging towards at me with her pole of ice. This time, I was able to see her movements much more clearly. She doesn¡¯t know this yet, and approaches me at high speed, intending to knock me off. When she gets in range, she thrusts the spear towards my upper body, and at the last second, I side step it with the least amount of movement possible, the pole barely missing my body, scraping against my shirt. Her eyes widen in shock, but before she was able to react even further, I slam my hand right into her face. With my new strength and speed, I grab it with an iron grip, and leap up into the air. As we land back onto the center of the [Hill], I slam her head right into the ground, and I was actually able to shatter the [Demon Glass] with the force of the smash. I let go and jump away to grab the weapons I dropped earlier. Behind me, I hear Thoth already getting back up, so I turn to face her after picking up my [Magnum] and [White Edge]. Blood runs down her face, and several pieces of the [Demon Glass] is piercing her back and arms. ¡°Well then, it looks like I got you to unseal another mark.¡± She says with a smile on her face. ¡°So without further ado, let¡¯s just end it, shall we?¡± She transforms the pole of ice in her hands into a spear, spinning it around her body before taking a stance. I holster the both of my weapons, and raise my fists up, prepared for her attack. Just like before, I was using my hands, and she was using a spear. Except this time, I was the one with the higher stats. We lunge at each other, and she makes an overhead swing again. I sidestep the attack, and just like always, it stops suddenly. A massive increase of speed is made in her movements as she rotates her body and swings it at an extreme speed. I was able to see this movement though, and I grab the spear by the handle. My hand becomes numb, but I crush the handle with my strength, before throwing a left hook into Thoth¡¯s stomach. She¡¯s sent flying into the air, but manages to land within the [Hill], and on her feet. This time, she looked like she¡¯s barely holding on. Most likely, her next move will be her final. ¡°There¡¯s about 15 seconds left, so I¡¯ll make this quick!¡± She yells out, and dashes right at me. As soon as she reaches me, she leaps above me, pulling her spear back, ready to thrust. I still have my fists raised, ready to grab her spear and break it this time, no matter what the ice does to me. Before she lands, though, she¡¯s suddenly propelled sideways, an illusion of fire left behind where she previously was. I turn to the direction she dashed to, but she was gone. Then, I realized how she dodged my [Inferno Bullet] earlier. I instantly step to the side while rotating my body. Thoth¡¯s spear flies right through the area I was just standing in, as I predicted. She used her [Spectral Daggers] earlier to teleport behind me. Unfortunately, I saw through her trick this time, and she couldn¡¯t teleport where her shadows didn¡¯t reach. I raise my leg high above her head, and bring it down on her. The axe kick smashes into her head, and I force it all the way into the [Demon Glass] floor, shattering the glass yet again, with the force of my strike. ¡°¡­good fight.¡± I said to the corpse under my foot. The bell rings upon her death, marking the end of the [King of the Hill] event. Honestly, it feels like she still hasn''t used her full strength against me. I didn''t see [Mode: Devil] or [Dark Lance], so there may be skills that she''s still unable to use, or just held back. The [System]¡¯s voice enters my head, stating the points I gained in this event. ¡°2240 points have been obtained. You are now ranked 1 in the leaderboard.¡± Based on what I remember, Zellaroth had a total score of 1460. I nearly have an 800 point lead from a single event, obtaining over 100 kills and kept the title [King] for the entire time. ¡°As unbelievable as it sounds, Aria Brynhildr has completely dominated this event, holding the title of [King] for a total of 9 minutes and 55 seconds!¡± The announcer states, and the crowd goes completely wild. Unexpectedly, the people of this era are excited to see these kinds of scenes. In my previous life, a bloody scene like this usually has everyone fear me afterwards. Using [Enhanced Detection], I search through the crowds and find my parents at the upper seats of the colosseum. There were tears in my mother''s eyes while my father was clapping his hands. Also, for some reason, the Student Council was sitting near their location, and they were all cheering out for me as well. Even Raina was waving her hand at me, and I wave back. For some reason, this causes that area of the crowd to become even louder and more excited. I don¡¯t think much of it, and decide to just leave the arena grounds. Covered in blood from head to toe, I descend the pyramid known as the [Hill] for the first time in 10 minutes. The corpses that were made during the duel evaporates into some sort of dust, as the arena grounds shift back to normal while I walk away. From this day on, I just displayed that I am a monster that no one here is capable of defeating, even if they all come at once. This was an entertaining experience, but I¡¯m still looking forward to two more things. I want to fight the man who learnt [Titan Strength], Zellaroth Orium. There¡¯s no doubt that his power is that of an [S-Ranked], maybe even a [D-Ranked] one in the [Immortal Tier]. Along with that, I want to test the strength of this Pyrion Genada. If the leaderboards are true, which I hope they are, those two must be stronger than the current Thoth. I do have doubts about them, but I¡¯ll be patient and wait for them to show me what they¡¯re capable of. Tomorrow are the [Individual Events], so the [1 v 1]¡¯s will take place along with the [Free For All]. I leak mana by accident, excited to participate in these events. I¡¯m going to reign over every single one of these events, and no one will stop me.
Bonus (bad) Skit that doesn¡¯t actually happen in the story with weak personality Aria: Spoiler : Aria: ¡°I. Am. The. Ki¨C¡± *Aria bites her tongue* Aria: ¡°Uu¡­¡± *Aria¡¯s eyes tear up* *Everyone in the arena dies.* Announcer: "...Victory, to Aria Brynhildr with a record of 133 kills within 5 seconds!" Bonus aftermath that doesn¡¯t occur in the story, with weak personality Aria: Spoiler : As Aria walks down the stairs of the pyramid, she trips over her feet and tumbles down the pyramid. After rolling all the way down, she lands face first into the ground. Her eyes tears up from this, and everyone still in the arena suddenly dies from the sight. Author¡¯s Note: Okay guys, the demon has finally come to claim my soul. The demon known as¡­ school. So yeah, school¡¯s about to start for me, meaning I¡¯ll have less time to work on the chapters. I¡¯ll try to keep the one chapter a day pace, with the occasional two, but forgive me if I miss a day. Don¡¯t forgive me if I miss two days in a row. :) Also, I feel like I''ve tried too hard on the chapter, so it might just be a wall of text full of scenes that I tried to explain from what I see in my head. Chapter 25: The Aftermath of the Event Chapter 25: The Aftermath of the Event Bob¡¯s perspective: ¡°As unbelievable as it sounds, Aria Brynhildr has completely dominated this event, holding the title of [King] for a total of 9 minutes and 55 seconds!¡± The announcer yells out. I watch the lone girl standing at the top of the pyramid, covered completely in blood. Even with her body dyed red like that, she still seemed like a beauty. The girl just won the [King of the Hill] event, reigning over and killing everyone who dares approach the top of the pyramid, without exception. ¡°¡­another [Hyperion Human], huh?¡± I whisper to myself quietly. The lone, distant girl on that [Hill] was already beyond the [Mortal Tier], perhaps in the higher ranks of the [Immortal Tier]. Recently, there¡¯s been more children like her as humans gradually become stronger as a race. The [Hyperion Humans] are geniuses that are beyond normal prodigies, their experience gain is 4 times faster than the normal person, and they can naturally strengthen their stats faster than normal. In this tournament, there has been 3 [Hyperion Humans] as far as I¡¯ve seen, every single one of them a freshman. The first, is Pyrion Genada, from [Belsburg¡¯s School of Adventurers]. He is a ruthless child who¡¯s searching for someone strong for unknown reasons. He completely dominated the first three events, no one even once, wounded him. He has some knowledge of magic, but mainly uses a [Magic Gun] in battle. Second, Thoth Farlite, from [Atalin¡¯s Royal Academy]. Unlike most [Hyperion Humans], she is a social, energetic girl who doesn¡¯t undermine everyone around her. During the [Team Events], she worked with her team efficiently, equally dividing the work amongst each other and never stepping out of her bounds to show off. She seems versatile in a large variety of weapons, and uses several instances of unknown magic. At first, I didn¡¯t think she was a [Hyperion Human], but just a normal prodigy, until I saw her battle the lone girl just now. The lone girl herself, was Aria Brynhildr. Attending [Krystalis Academy], she is beyond anything what I¡¯ve seen before. [Hyperion Humans] are powerful, yes, but they still have their limits and can¡¯t make a straight one versus ten. Yet, Aria just challenged over 100 students at once, and came out the victor. At the beginning of the event, this unknown girl who has not participated in any other event, instantly appeared at the top of the [Hill] before anyone knew it. Declaring four words that stayed true to the end, she killed all her enemies mercilessly at the top of the [Hill], without suffering a single wound until the battle with Thoth. Her combat style was unique, as well. She was a dual wielder, that wasn¡¯t common with the younger adventurers. Add on to that, she¡¯s using two different weapons at once, which is harder to do. With the fact that one of those weapons was a [Magic Gun], no, a [Magnum], this was a style that no one has ever used before. A dagger in one hand, and a [Magnum] the other. With these two weapons, she had the ability to kill from distance, or close combat. From the weakest to the strongest, these three children would be very powerful assets. The boss told me not to come this event, because there wouldn¡¯t be anyone worthwhile, but clearly, he was wrong. I leave the [Arena] with the crowd, and head towards the alleys in the city. When I find a place that was desolated, I pull out my phone, and dial a number, waiting for the receiver to answer. ¡°Hello there, this is Oracle Corporations, how may I help you?¡± A female voice answers. ¡°¡­the eclipse will open a door to the light.¡± I say to her. A second after, my call is redirected to a different person. After five rings, the person I¡¯m trying to contact finally picks up. ¡°What is it?¡± The voice of the boss comes through the phone. His voice is androgynous, but we don¡¯t know his true gender. We¡¯ve never actually seen his appearance, but the group assumes he¡¯s male anyway. ¡°¡­you were wrong.¡± I said to him. ¡°Wrong? About what? Don¡¯t tell me, you actually went to the [Fall Tournament]?¡± He asks me. ¡°Three [Hyperion Humans], two of them with strength in the [Immortal Tier].¡± I immediately say to him. ¡°What was that!?¡± He yells in surprise. ¡°Give me their names. Now.¡± ¡°Pyrion Genada, Thoth Farlite, and Aria Brynhildr. Listen, these ki¨C¡± Suddenly, the phone in my hand bursts into pieces. ¡°Hey, hey, buddy. I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t have you bothering Aria.¡± A familiar voice comes from above, and I look up to see the man known as the principal of [Krystalis Academy]. He was standing on the roof of a building, looking down at me. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have minded if you went for Thoth or Pyrion, but Aria is something you¡¯re not allowed to touch. So because you¡¯re trying to turn her into an asset, I have no choice but to kill you.¡± He says with a smile on his face. That was the last thing I saw, before my vision became black. After that, I feel something piercing my chest, and my body became numb as I fall to the ground. It seems like my life ends here. Aria¡¯s Perspective: Warm water hits my body as I wash away all the blood on me. The [Duel System] can guarantee the fighter¡¯s lives, but it won¡¯t fix the aftermath of it. Meaning, all the blood that was spilled during the event still stayed, and I was completely soaked in it. I¡¯m currently using the [Arena]¡¯s shower rooms, trying to wash away the drying blood on me before it clots. If it does, it¡¯ll be extremely annoying to remove. After wiping the blood off my body, I begin to wash the blood off of my hair, using magic to help me do so. The red color slowly flows out of my hair, the red liquid flowing into the drain. The light blue color returns, and starts shines silver as the blood is removed from it. After washing off all the blood on me, I turn off the water and leave the shower stall I was in. ¡°Boo!¡± A familiar voice shouts, but I¡¯m unfazed by it, and turn to the girl who tried to scare me. ¡°You¡¯re no fun. At least show some sort of reaction, will you?¡± Thoth says to me, pouting her lips. All signs of her deathly aura and bloodlust was completely gone, replaced with the energetic personality that she had before. Just like before, it doesn¡¯t seem like she minds dying to me again, but it must hurt losing twice to the same person. ¡°¡­sorry.¡± I apologize again, for killing her a second time. ¡°Huh? About killing me? I¡¯m pretty sure I told you not to worry about that, dummy.¡± She says that as she flicks my forehead. ¡°Punishment, for every time you do something stupid like that, stupid girl!¡± She sticks her tongue out, and her cheerful atmosphere affects me, making me smile. As I finish wiping myself with a towel, I then realize, I didn¡¯t bring any spare clothes. ¡°¡­Thoth.¡± I say to her. ¡°Wat¡± ¡°¡­clothes.¡± And a moment of silent filled the air. ¡°Jeez, I was hoping this wouldn¡¯t happen, but I did expect this situation.¡± Thoth sighs to herself, before grabbing a large bag she brought with her. ¡°When you told me you were going to participate in the [Free For All] events, I had no doubt that you were going to get yourself all dirty like this. So I packed a couple of spares just for you.¡± She pulls out a t-shirt and some pants for me, and I take them gratefully. ¡°¡­thank you¡­¡± I say to her quietly after I put them on. ¡°Keep your thanks to yourself. It¡¯s not like I did it for you or anything¡­¡± She says, her voice getting quieter as she continued. We both leave together, and exit the colosseum. It was 10 minutes past 5:00, so Thoth went home immediately to do something for her parents. On the way out, my parents were waiting by the main entrance for me. Upon seeing me, they smile and run to me immediately. Thoth leaves me here as my mother comes over to pick me up and spin me around, squealing as she does so. ¡°Oh Aria, how strong you¡¯ve become! How long were you hiding your strength for? We knew you were more powerful than an average adventurer, but you took on over one hundred people on your own!¡± My mother was in an extremely happy mood after watching that, and her reactions make me smile as well. It¡¯s nice to see someone like her in a joyful mood. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°You did well, little princess. It seems like you¡¯ve inherited your mother¡¯s genes over mine, because you did real well with that gun in hand.¡± My dad praised me, and my mother suddenly puts me down with an expression as if she just recalled something. ¡°That¡¯s right! Aria, where did you learn such a thing!? You were so amazing! When I was 8, I couldn¡¯t do any of the things you did, you know? Not only are you going around holding a [Magnum] in one hand, but you¡¯re actually dual wielding with another melee weapon! That¡¯s so cool of you!¡± She praises me as well, getting more and more excited as the conversation goes on. ¡°I don¡¯t approve of some of the ways you fought, though. When you used that poor girl¡¯s corpse as a shield, that shocked me, you know? That¡¯s such a cruel thing to do to a dead person, even if she was going to be resurrected by the [System]. It¡¯s not good to be treating bodies like ragdolls or weapons, you know?¡± She begins to lecture me about this, but my dad was able to stop her by bringing up another topic. As we head home, they continue talking and praising me but I don¡¯t answer them back most of the time. I did have a smile on my face, though, because it felt nice to make my parents happy. Again, we had a feast for dinner, and I was sent to bed early that night so I could wake up early for tomorrow. There was still two more days to go, after all. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Ladies and gentleman, today is the second day of the [Inter-school Fall Tournament]! Yesterday, we already had an amazing show of battles between large groups of people, but I think all of us here can agree that the last event was the most amazing one out of them all!¡± The principal of the school is making another speech before the events started, trying to hype the already excited crowd even further. This time, I wasn¡¯t in a tiny little corner by myself, all lonely, because Thoth came over to stay with me during the waiting period. ¡°The one girl that captured our attention, she¡¯s already been given several names by the other combatants. [Bloody Maiden], [Unstoppable Slayer], [Death¡¯s Personal Reaper], and many others things.¡± Wow, it sounded like I¡¯m just a living weapon that kills without discrimination. These titles are hurting my feelings a bit. ¡°But there was one that became my personal favorite after I heard it from a certain friend of mine. The girl who¡¯s every aspect can kill, including her appearance, the [Angel of Annihilation]!¡± So I am now seen as a living weapon that indiscriminately kills everything. That title should be on Thoth, rather than me, because she¡¯s the one with the [Aura of Annihilation]. I mean, I know that I just killed over a hundred other people alone, but she¡¯s the existence of absolute destruction here, not me. I¡¯m your former [Hero], the one who saved your world, but now you¡¯re treating me like the [Demon Lord]? Well, whatever. They don¡¯t know any of those facts, and it¡¯s not like I particularly care about my reputation, so I¡¯ll forget about it. What does it matter to me if my appearance is terrible enough to kill? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m a girl that cares about her appearance or anything. ¡°Aria, your mana is leaking.¡± Thoth¡¯s voice enters my head, and I¡¯m broken out of my thoughts. As she said, my mana was leaking, and I was scaring the other students standing around me. I quickly stop the leak, and refocus my attention to the speech, but it seems like it¡¯s already ended. ¡°Without further ado, let us begin the second day of the [Inter-school Fall Tournament]!¡± Just like yesterday, the crowd yells and cheers in excitement, excited for the upcoming events for today. By the way, the individual events were; [Quick Strike] [Obelisk Destruction] [Free For All Deathmatch] [1 v 1] [Shadow Hunt] Of course, I only took two events out of that entire list. The [Free For All], and [1 v 1]. I¡¯m not interested in the unique event, and the other two events sounds like a competition between speed and strength, both which sounds boring to me. The only one that would actually give me a challenge would be Thoth, and possibly, Pyrion. Not that I found out who he is yet. The tournament day starts, and I exit the battle grounds with Thoth, entering the underground area of the [Arena]. I managed to get a room within the second floor of the underground rooms, and Thoth follows me in. We lock the door behind us, and went to opposite sides of the room. Silently, the both of us gear up with our weapons. I pull out my [Magnum] and [White Edge], while Thoth pulls out some sort of plated armor and the magic armlet she used yesterday. I can guess where the armlet came from, but I¡¯m still not going to ask where she gets her armor. ¡°Okay then, sparring match between the former [Hero] and [Demon Lord]. If you unseal yourself at all, I win by default, okay?¡± She says with a playful tone in her voice, and I nod in response. It¡¯s a bit unfair if I do that every time I¡¯m about to lose to her. ¡°Then, let¡¯s go!¡± She creates a longsword of ice in her right hand, thrusts it at me despite being 10 meters away. Some sort of shadow lance emerges from it, coming right at me, and I fire my [Magnum] at the magic projectile, blowing it away with the force of the bullet. Thoth was already gone though, with a shadow below the area she was previously standing in. I immediately use [Enhanced Detection] and enchant myself with a wind spell, [Light Steps]. I hear her footsteps behind me, and immediately react to it. I turn around while lowering my body, the sword of ice flying right above me, narrowly missing me. I activate [Arcane Strike] in my next attack, and thrust my dagger at the stomach of my opponent. She manages to dodge, and in return, makes a kick at me while I was low. I catch her leg in between my arms, and managed to lift her off the ground as I stand. I swing her body around me and throw her at the nearest wall, but she uses a [Spectral Dagger] and goes right through the shadow, reappearing at the shadow she made behind me. This time, I was already facing her direction, so I was able to respond to it. As she emerges from the shadow, I fire my [Magnum] at her position, aiming for the head. Just before it hits, her speed spontaneously increases, deflecting the bullet. At this point, I can finally determine that her spontaneous increase in speed comes from ¡®absorbing¡¯ the force of a previous movement, allowing her to add it to any movement she uses in the future. That¡¯s how she can change her attack direction so fast, and move at speeds higher than I can anticipate. After the deflection, we both jump away from each other, creating distance between us. ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s a much more even fight when you¡¯re not low on mana, huh, Aria?¡± Thoth says to me. I don¡¯t reply, and keep my guard up. ¡°Whatever, as long as I make you unseal a mark, I win. Here I come!¡± She yells, and dashes right at me. We continue the spar until the [Free For All] event comes, no one being victorious during our spar. For some reason, her stats are increasing like crazy, and soon enough, I won¡¯t be able to even win sparring with her without 2% of my power.
Sorry about this short excuse for a chapter, but work¡¯s been piling on me. My schedule¡¯s pretty clear for tomorrow, so I¡¯ll be able to throw a 4k word chapter or something. Sorry for making you all wait, and thanks for your patience! By the way, my editor wanted to name the sacrificial character, therefore, he''s ''Bob,'' the guy who barely had any meaning to the story. :) Chapter 26: The Free For All Chapter 26: The Free For All ¡°Weapons, check! Hair, check! Clothing, check! It looks like you¡¯re all ready!¡± Thoth says to me before patting my back. I had no idea why, but she suddenly wanted to ¡®gear me up¡¯ herself. She brought several sets of clothes and began making me try on different things. Apparently, it¡¯s to make my appearance to the crowd more ¡®attractive.¡¯ I don¡¯t know if this will work, but I hope it¡¯ll work. A bad reputation¡¯s never a good thing, it makes things more complicated in the future if everyone fears you. In the end, I ended up wearing the same style of clothing as usual; a t-shirt with shorts. Except these pants were far shorter than they should be, and I was given some sort of jacket made of denim. She even gave me some fingerless gloves that were black and red. After dressing me as she liked, she finally lets me leave the room and head towards the [Arena]. I walk through one of the four main entrances into the colosseum, Thoth following from behind. As soon as we make our appearance, the crowd cheers out loud. The crowd must truly love Thoth if they¡¯re cheering this much. She¡¯s a very charming person, after all. Our positions were truly in reverse, people believing that I¡¯m a creation of destruction, while she¡¯s the people¡¯s hero. ¡°Everyone, the biggest individual event that you are all expecting, is finally here! With only three minutes to spare, every participant has to kill as many other combatants as they possibly can, and anyone surviving at the end will gain an extra 50 points for being alive! Be careful though, each of you only has one life. Once you die, you¡¯re out of the event. There are 166 participants in total, more than the [King of the Hill] from yesterday! The top three people who killed the most combatants will gain bonus points!¡± The announcer tells us the rules, just like yesterday during the beginning of [King of the Hill] event. Prior to joining the event, Thoth and I made an agreement that instead of fighting each other, we¡¯ll make it a contest to see who obtains the most kills. We had to be careful though, because this time, Zellaroth was in this event. I heard that Pyrion was as well, but I still don¡¯t know who he is, so that means I have to keep an eye out for a sudden attack from him. I pull on my gloves, tightening them. It felt kind of strange, having my fingers exposed while wearing gloves, but the nostalgic feeling of wearing some made me think of my past life. Unholstering the gun in my right hand, and unsheathing my dagger in my left, I take a deep breath, preparing to cover myself in blood again. The battlegrounds for the event was a dried wasteland, with large rocks here and there. I can make use of those to my advantage, but it will probably be quite the painful death for the victims. I feel Thoth¡¯s [Aura of Annihilation] being released from behind me, and I also release my own. Everyone in the arena turns towards our direction, intimidated by our auras. Right after, the announcer starts the event. ¡°Now, then let us begin the event of chaos, the [Free For All]!¡± No countdown this time, the bell rung right away after he said that. Several combatants shout out war cries as the battle starts, immediately charging at the closest fighter. No one approached Thoth and I, though, probably too scared of us. So instead, I immediately dash to the largest cluster of fighters that I can find, and dive right into the center of it, and immediately start the killing. As I literally dive into the center of the cluster, I stab my dagger into the first man I see, right in the throat. Probably because he had a higher HP pool than average, and everything in this world is subjected to status, he didn¡¯t die right away. I solve that problem right away by pulling out the knife and stabbing the left side of his chest, at his heart. With my other hand, I raise the barrel to knock away an attacker¡¯s weapon, before firing it right under his jaw at point blank range. I kick his body away into someone behind me, the force knocking him over. When he falls to the ground, I stomp on his head, aiming at his cranium. Feeling the top of his skull cave in, I refocus my attention to deflecting people trying to surprise attack me. With one hand, I knock away the attackers¡¯ weapons, and I kill with the other, switching back and forth between the [Magnum] and [White Edge]. Soon enough, my body begins to turn red as the blood of my victims cover me. The huge cluster that was once here is now turning into a small field of bodies. Surprisingly, I still haven¡¯t encountered anyone who could¡¯ve potentially been Pyrion, and Zellaroth was on the opposite side of the arena, also wiping out a cluster. I continue to slaughter the opponents around me, and got far too into the chaos and switched to my old combat habit. The battle becoming too intense, I holster my [Magnum] and threw my knife at a ranged target, piercing one of his eyes and penetrating deep enough to kill him instantly. I dodge a spear thrust and grab it by the handle, forcing it out of the wielder¡¯s hands and taking it from him. Using it against him, I make an underhand swing and strike right at his groin area. Ending the pain of having his manhood crushed, I stab his heart with the head of the spear. I continue fighting this way, stealing other combatant¡¯s weapons and using it against them. Whenever I stole a sharp, long weapon like a sword, limbs would go flying. When I stole blunt weapons like a hammer, bones were crushed. When I stole a long weapon like a spear, blood is sprayed everywhere as I dance with it. I display my prowess as a master of weapons, using and throwing them away casually whenever they broke or I couldn''t pull it out of a corpse. Eventually, I stop doing this, and start just beating the people down around me with my bare fists. Breaking a jaw with an uppercut, smashing a skull with a downward strike, smashing my fist right through someone¡¯s chest all the way through the other side, I completely massacre the people around me. I brutally kill everyone around me, much more worst than I usually would with any kind of weapon. Although most of them died in a single strike, that doesn''t mean that the method of death wasn''t painful. Slamming their bodies into rocks, shattering their bones, having their limbs torn with my raw strength, these kinds of deaths seemed very painful. Approximately 50 bodies were around me as I finish wiping out the rest of the combatants. I search around for any other enemies around me with [Enhanced Detection], but there was no one else. I see Thoth slaying another group of combatants, nearly finished. Zellaroth just crushed a man''s chest by stomping on it, which looked brutal. He still had a bit to go to finish his group. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. As I continue to watch the other battles happening around me, Then, I hear a familiar sound that I¡¯ve gotten used to hearing from constant use of a certain weapon. I immediately step right and turn my body, a fast projectile whizzing right by my cheek. It was a bullet. Several more gunshots were heard, and several tens of bullets are being rained onto me. Reacting faster than ever, I unholster and raise my [Magnum], firing an [Air Burst Bullet], a projectile that fires a heavy burst of wind to stop other projectiles. Fortunately, this was enough to stop normal bullets, so all of them were immediately blown away. After the bullet storm was taken down, I was able to clearly see the enemy. ¡°As I thought, you¡¯re extremely strong.¡± He spoke out to me. ¡°The state of destruction you left that room in, the amount of people you killed yesterday, the amount of strength you possess is absurd.¡± The calm, intellectual looking boy from yesterday stood around 25 meters away, speaking to me. In his left hand, was a submachine gun, one that I recognized. [Wheldin POS] was the name, a submachine gun that had the slowest firing rate, but also had the highest amount of power and mana consumption. He was a [Marksman] as well, it seemed, and one with a very high mana pool if he can afford to fire out barrages of bullets like that. Automatic weapons tend to be the least used weapon type, since the mana cost for using them is extremely high. ¡°Your name is Aria Brynhildr, correct?¡± I nod in reply to this, not lowering my guard. ¡°My name is Pyrion Genada, as you know. Please, listen to me before you become hostile towards me.¡± He lowers his gun onto the ground, and slowly walks to me with his hands raised. I keep my guard up, my [Magnum] still aimed at his head in case he tries anything. When he reaches 10 meters of me, I motion at him to stop, and he does. Suddenly, he bends forward with his head down, and arms straight. I nearly pulled the trigger in reaction to this, but he suddenly shouts out loud; ¡°Aria Brynhildr, will you please be my lover!?¡± I freeze upon hearing this, the [Magnum] slowly slipping out of my hand. Processing what he just said to me, I think of every possible meaning that he could have meant, but only came with one conclusion. After registering this into my head, my mind becomes blank, and I just stand there, shocked at what just happened. ¡°¡­ah, uh, er, nng!¡± As I stutter and panic to try and reply to him, I bite my tongue before I even say a proper word to him. ¡°¡­uuu¡­¡± I moan quietly in pain, covering my mouth. When I look up to see if he was still waiting, it seems that he lifted his head back up, and staring at me with a red face. Soon after, blood came out from his nose. Did I seem that unsightly? Instantly, with speed so fast that I wasn''t even able to see an afterimage, his face was buried into a nearby rock. Thoth was right next of him with her hand on the back of his head. She let out intense bloodlust, with a fiery look in her eyes, she lifts his head up and slams it back into the ground over and over. ¡°What. The. Hell. Are. You. Trying. To. Do. To. Aria. You. Pedophile. Piece. Of. SH¨C¡± I ignore the final word she says, watching her continue slamming his head in after every word until he¡¯s neck deep into the rock, dead. After killing him, she stands up, turns to me, and runs over. Slightly scared of her, I unconsciously brace myself for whatever¡¯s going to happen, but she only grabs my shoulders and looks at me right in the eyes. ¡°Are you okay Aria? That guy didn¡¯t do anything strange to you, right? You don¡¯t need to mind someone like him, he¡¯s just a weird pervert that you shouldn¡¯t interact with.¡± She shakes me as she says this, and I grab her wrists to stop her. ¡°...i¡¯m fine¡­¡± I whisper to her. This was never a situation I have ever been in, so it completely caught me off guard. Perhaps he was trying to make use of that moment to attack me with a hidden weapon? If Thoth didn¡¯t come in time, I probably would¡¯ve been killed right there. During times like these, I really feel thankful that Thoth is my friend. She really looks out for me and covers me when I need it. The bell rings, signaling the end of the event. The loud cheers of the crowd can finally be heard, the silence in the arena being broken immediately. It seems like there¡¯s a spell that¡¯s supposed to block off all other sounds outside of the arena, which wasn¡¯t used during the unique event yesterday. The announcer begins talking again, announcing the conclusion before the [1 v 1] events coming up next. ¡°And folks, that¡¯s the end of it! In the arena, only 3 people stand alive! For the most kills during this event, third place surprisingly goes to Zellaroth, with 44 kills!¡± The crowd yells out in cheers at the large man, who¡¯s currently holding the corpse of the previous person he just killed by breaking his neck. ¡°In second place, the monster who had slain over one hundred other combatants yesterday, is the [Angel of Annihilation], Aria! She has slain 56 people!¡± The crowd erupts at this, and I was quite surprised that Thoth was able to beat me in terms of kills. Guess I can¡¯t win in everything. ¡°And in first place, the one that lost to the [Angel of Annihilation], but won by that very last kill she took from Aria, Thoth Farlite, with 57 people killed!¡± ¡­what? Seriously? The final kill was on the man that took me in surprise? Wait, so did Thoth really come to help me, or did she come to obtain that final kill to beat me? I turn my head stiffly to her, who had a look of surprise on her face. When she noticed me staring at her with eyes of doubt, she put a look of apology on her face. Then, with a smile on her face, she stuck her tongue out, tilted her head slightly and raised her fist to her temple before saying; ¡°¡­teehee?¡± I¡¯ll be ignoring her for a while. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Author¡¯s note: I lost the second half of this chapter due to iPad problems I won¡¯t bother to explain. The second half was originally supposed to be the [1 v 1] events, but it looks like I won¡¯t be able to upload it with this chapter. I¡¯ll try to retype it and upload it tomorrow as chapter 27. Sorry for screwing up! >.< Chapter 27: The Duels Chapter 27: The Duels ¡°Ladies and gentleman, the longest event in the tournament has finally come! The event that will determine the strongest individual within their year, the [1 v 1] tournaments!¡± As soon as he finishes announcing that, a green, ethereal screen appears above the announcer¡¯s booth, displaying a tournament ladder. In total, there was 276 participants, and there was going to be 9 rounds in total. The top 20 people in the leaderboard were put into reserve brackets, where they don¡¯t have to fight in the early rounds due to their rankings. Due to me being first place in the leaderboards, I am placed in the 5th round, two rounds before the quarter finals. Thoth was put into 2nd place on the leaderboard due to the previous event, so she was also joining in at the 5th round. She was also on the other side of the ladder, so we wouldn¡¯t be able to fight again until the finals. The arena was shifted into four separate sections, each section having a different kind of landscape or environment. Each section will hold a duel between two combatants, the battleground changing locations every time. This set up will continue until the semifinals, where all four sections will be combined and the entire arena will be used as the battleground. ¡°The candidates this year for the strongest first year is a close contest between three students. The man who appears from nothing and barraging his enemies with bullets, the [Ghost Gunner], Pyrion Genada! The girl of darkness and ice, the [Shadow Princess], Thoth Farlite! Last, and certainly not the least, the girl who kills all with both her combat ability and her appearance, the [Angel of Annihilation], Aria Brynhildr!¡± The announcer makes the excited crowd even more hyped, the atmosphere of the crowd exciting me. But still, the introduction he gave for me only further increases my reputation as an indiscriminate killer. ¡°Now then, I shall explain two nice and simple rules. First, you restricted only to the area you¡¯ve been assigned to battle in. Even a step out will get you disqualified instantly. Second, there is a 5 minute time limit to each fight, and going beyond that will disqualify both participants!¡± Several combatants and the crowd began booing at this, but the announcer ignores them. ¡°These rules are extremely harsh, yes, but I really do doubt that any battle will actually last beyond 5 minutes. With that, each section has a large amount of space for battle, so failing to follow these rules are near impossible unless you actually try to fail them. Now then, we shall begin instantly!¡± This calms everyone down, the crowd going back to their energetic ,and hyped state. The first four pairs of fighters were called to their separate sections, and those waiting can head to the underground rooms until it¡¯s our turn. How do we know if it¡¯s time for us to come? The [System]¡¯s a very convenient thing, warning us when we¡¯re about to miss our turn in an event we¡¯re in. I don¡¯t enter the rooms though, rather, I entered the spectator stands to go see my parents. As I walk through the crowd of people, they all got up from their seats, left the aisle in order to clear a proper path for me. Some of them even threw flowers at me. Why would anyone throw such beautiful plants at me? Is that how unsightly I was, how scared they were of me? To the point where they would waste flowers like this? ¡°Aria, my beautiful little angel!¡± My mother squeals as she sees me, before leaving her seat and coming to give me a hug. ¡°How¡¯s it going, princess? You¡¯re really giving those other guys a run for their money, aren¡¯t ya?¡± My dad says with a proud look on his face. ¡°Oh, yes! Aria, where did you even learn how to fight like that!? You used everything that came into your hands so efficiently, it¡¯s like you inherited my blood, except for combat weapons rather than guns!¡± My mother showers me with praises afterwards, while putting me on her lap and hugging me. My dad was also patting my head while listening to my mother. ¡°¡­good job.¡± A quiet voice comes from behind us, and I turn to see Raina sitting on the row behind my parents. ¡°¡­thanks...¡± I say, feeling my lips curve slightly. ¡°Aw, Aria, you¡¯re so adorable!¡± My mother hugs me tightly, and cuddles me in her arms, while my dad tried to strike conversation with Raina. ¡°So, are you our daughter¡¯s new friend?¡± He asks. ¡°Ah, yeah¡­¡± She replies. ¡°Then, please continue to remain so. We know she¡¯s socially awkward, but she¡¯s a really nice girl when you get to know her.¡± Soon enough, my dad begins telling her many things about me, including past stories about our outings in the city. Raina listened earnestly, even though these kinds of things weren¡¯t really that interesting. My mother continued to cuddle me the entire time until the 5th round was finally starting, and it was my turn to go. ¡°Good luck, Aria!¡± ¡°Go get ¡®em, princess!¡± My parents gives me encouragement as I leave the spectator¡¯s area, the crowd of people moving out the way just like when I entered. I exit the stands and enter the colosseum arena grounds, towards the north-east section of the arena. The battle location was a wasteland of fire, cracks in the ground and magma bursting out in some areas. A referee stood in the middle of the section, there to monitor the battle so that no one leaves the battlegrounds, and to keep an eye on the time. I was wearing new clothing, given by Thoth after the [Free For All], and I washed my hair during the intermission between the events, so I was clean again. ¡°So, are both participants ready?¡± He suddenly says, surprising me. I didn¡¯t see my opponent, which was strange. ¡°Okay then, ready, set, go!¡± Right there, the battle suddenly starts. I hear several gun shots in front of me, and I raise my [Magnum] to fire wind projectile spell, [Air Burst Bullets]. Although I didn¡¯t see any of the enemy bullets, I could hear the sound of them falling onto the ground after being blown away. I didn¡¯t pay attention to the person I was going up against, so I didn¡¯t know who exactly I was fighting, but I was able to deduce it fairly easily. Only one other person was able to use a gun within the first years, and his title was the [Ghost Gunner]. I was up against someone firing a gun, and currently invisible. It was obviously Pyrion. With [Enhanced Detection] activated, I was easily able to tell his location based on sound. It doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s been trained in stealth, due to the fact that he was heavily sprinting around without concealing his footsteps. His barrage of bullets stop for a second, and I make use of this opening to fire an [Inferno Bullet] at the area where he was sprinting into. A huge explosion of fire lights up the entire area, even hotter than the heat of the magma around us, even melting the stone within 2 meters of the actual explosion. During the explosion, I see a small figure of fire dive away, so I knew that he was able to escape before he was engulfed in it. He was most likely wounded, though, because he was in the fire for nearly a whole second before escaping. ¡°¡­you¡¯re using a very dangerous gun there. A [Magnum], huh?¡± My opponent dispels his invisibility in front of me, his clothes tattered from the flames and the right side of his body red from the heat. ¡°It looks like I can¡¯t hold back against you, so I want to make a little deal with you before we start fighting for real.¡± He was full of confidence, apparently, thinking that he can actually win. Though I don¡¯t fire my gun, interested in what he¡¯s going to tell me. ¡°Aria, if I prove my strength to you by being victorious, will you¨C¡± *sfx: BANG BANG BANG!* I don¡¯t want to hear this again. He nearly fooled me last time, I won¡¯t fall for it agai ¡°Woah there, calm down for a second! Hey, stop shooting! Let me finish it at least! Stop, stop, stop!¡± Why can¡¯t I hit this guy!? He¡¯s moving as fast as Thoth can during her speed bursts! ¡°Oh fine! I¡¯ll say it anyway! Will-You-Please-Become-My-Girlfriend-If-I-Become-Victorious-In-This-Battle!¡± He shouts as fast as he can, before raising his gun at me again. Without even giving me a chance to reply, he fires his bullets again, but the projectiles were different this time. They were all created with [Earth Projectile Magic], [Stone Shrapnel Bullets]. They all scatter into smaller shards of sharp rocks, and I couldn¡¯t blow these away with my [Air Burst Bullets]. Instead, I fired an [Inferno Bullet] to completely destroy the entire wave of bullets, melting them. He continued firing them, though, and I couldn¡¯t keep firing my [Inferno Bullets] without running out of mana, so I was forced to start running and dodging them. Automatic weapons weren¡¯t very popular amongst [Magic Gun] users, because of the extremely high mana cost it takes to continuously fire it. If someone did use an automatic weapon, they often don¡¯t use [Gun Magic] with it because it will completely drain their mana in a matter of seconds. But this monstrous opponent I¡¯m facing is casually firing barrages of bullets enchanted with [Projectile Magic], and it doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s feeling mana exhaustion. Because the time limit would run out at this rate, I stop running around the area and begin sprinting towards Pyrion while a pillar of magma bursts from the ground between us, stopping his barrage temporarily. As I run around the pillar and close in on him, he fires another wave of bullets at me, but I continue running towards him. Just before it hit me, I use [Teleport] to go right through it, and appear besides Pyrion. Rotating my upper body, I swing the [White Edge] in my left hand at a wide arc, and slam it into his back. I pull the knife right back out, and stab at his neck within a second of pulling it out. I kick his body away, causing him to roll over on the ground, and fire the [BLC-90] with an [Inferno Bullet], which directly hits his body. ¡°¡­I decline.¡± I say after killing him. It was a late reply, but I gave him one anyway. He was being rude, you know? He fired at me before he could even let me speak. I sigh to myself, before lowering both my weapons. The referee declares me the winner, and I leave the battlegrounds, feeling slightly satisfied by the battle. He was fairly strong, for someone his age. Definitely a prodigy worthy of respect. Only if he didn¡¯t try those poor tricks to catch people off guard, would make him an honorable warrior. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Here we are, ladies and gentleman, at the final battle in the [1 v 1] events!¡± The announcer yells, with excitement in his voice. The rest of the duels passed by in a breeze. Only Pyrion was capable of giving me a challenge, but I guess that¡¯s to be expected by the freshman who was able to get a top spot on the leaderboards other than Thoth and I. It disappointed me, really, fighting against these people. During the quarter-finals, I was even able to throw the guy out of the area and disqualify him in 10 seconds. Now, it¡¯s finally the final battle of the event, and just as expected, Thoth was my opponent for this round. The battlegrounds for this match was a large, flat, stone platform in the center of the arena, with about the same surface area as the [Hill] from yesterday. The both of us were already standing on the platform, facing each other off on opposite sides. During our spar, we were both stuck in a stalemate between each other, cause we can¡¯t really destroy the place we¡¯re using that time, but this time, we were going to go all out. ¡°As predicted, both Aria and Thoth would be facing off at the final round of the event! What will happen now!? Will Aria be once again victorious, or will Thoth will have her revenge in this match!? The suspension is killing me, so let¡¯s start right away!¡± What an impatient guy, and he¡¯s still as annoying as ever. ¡°Looks like round three between us, eh, Aria?¡± Thoth says to me, her lips slightly curved. ¡°¡­using ¡®that¡¯?¡± I ask. She knew what I was implying, and she makes a full smile at me. ¡°That¡¯s right. This time, my goal is forcing 3%.¡± After that, our exchange is over, and we wait for the bell to ring. As soon as the ringing sounds of the bell fills the arena, silence engulfs us as the voices of the announcer and the crowd is blocked out. Red markings suddenly appear on Thoth, running up and down her arms, legs and face just like tattoos. Her skin color remains the same, though, but her hair turns red and her eyes become white. Her appearance remains human, but it was clear that her strength increased greatly. [Mode: Devil], the transformation spell that grants the caster the power of a [Devil], including strength, speed, technique and spells. Upon activation, pure fire surrounds the caster during the transformation as the appearance of the caster changes. While this happening in front of me, I immediately release the second mark on my seal, preparing for the first strike. When the transformation¡¯s finished, Thoth disappeared instantly. The wind whistled in my ears besides me, before I see her fist flying straight at me. I was able to react fast enough to duck under, thrusting my dagger at her elbow to try and disable her arm. She pulls back quickly, though, so I just stabbed nothing but air. She tries to make a kick at me while I was low, but I forced her to stop it by firing my [Magnum] at the direction it came. Using the force of the kick she was just about to make, she lifts her leg above me before bringing it straight down with the momentum she just absorbed earlier. I roll to the side just before it hits, causing her to miss. I fire [Air Burst Bullets] at her to force her away, creating distance between us. We both stand there, looking at each other for a second, before lunging forward. With the armlet on, she creates a sword of ice and makes an underhand swing at me. I fire at the sword before she completes the swing, causing it to shatter, and I was able to close the distance safely. I jab the dagger forward, aiming to at least hit her with the attack, but she dodges it, before throwing a counter attack. I dodge her attack, and raise the gun to try and fire at her face at point blank range, but she smacks the barrel away just before I pull the trigger, causing me to miss. We continue our extreme battle at point blank range, striking at every chance we get, and countering every possible attack. She makes ice weapons during the process, which forces me to focus on destroying those before attacking her, because upon contact with anyone other than her, touching it for any longer than one second will give frostbite and ends in a frozen statue of human. The distance between us gradually begins to grow farther, and then magic was added to this extreme close-quarter exchange of attacks. Apparently, one of her [Devil Magic] included shooting fireballs from her fist, chains of molten rock surging from the ground, and fire trailing behind her every attack, making me unable to counter attack her at close range. My arsenal against her included several arrows of fire, water and earth, [Thunder Blasts], and I even tried to use a smaller scale of [Sun Raze] to hit her, but it missed due to the amount of time it took for it to actually reach the earth. The battlegrounds began turning into a complete chaos, with several pieces of the platform completely destroyed or torn off. There were now little pieces of the platform, like small footholds in a river, where missing a step or slipping will immediately cause either of us to lose. With this harsh, self made battleground, the both of us continue our raging battle, completely going all out at this point. My mana was nearly used up, and I only suffered minor wounds. Thoth also suffered a few scratches, and her mana pool was probably fairly low as well. She won¡¯t be able to use any magic now without having to cancel her transformation, which costs mana to maintain. So now, I will make a gamble for one final spell to defeat her. I leap forward, sprinting from piece to piece of the former round platform, dashing at Thoth with high speed. She does the same, dashing right at me to finish the fight. When I get within 10 meters of her, though, I spontaneously curve to the right. At the same time, I instantly create a [Phantasm] to turn left. This instantly caused her to stop her movements, while the illusion and I converge onto her from two different sides. Both the illusion and I reach her at the same time, when she suddenly creates two swords of black ice, and spins in a whirlwind to ward us off. After we stop our movements, she throws a sword at both of us, which we were able to dodge. Dodging forced me to look away, so when I turned back, Thoth was directly in front of me, with a spear of black ice. Before I was able to react, she stabbed me right in the heart, completely penetrating through. Her transformation dispels right after this, which was shown by her appearance returning to normal. Because of this, she wasn¡¯t able to dodge my illusion that came from behind, tackling her body head on. After forcing her onto the ground, the illusion puts the nozzle right on her forehead, before pulling the trigger. Then, a white light covers my vision, which was completely different from the first time I died. When it fades, I find myself in one of the underground rooms, which was the [Resurrection Point] set up by the school. Thoth was also in this room next to me, revived after the duel is over. She turns to me, and upon seeing me, she smiles gleefully while holding her index and middle finger at me. If I recall, this was the ¡®peace¡¯ sign, so I have no idea why she was doing this to me. ¡°Looks like I got the right one this time, right?¡± She says boastfully, clearly happy that she killed the right one. ¡°¡­a tie.¡± A surprising outcome, but it was still only 2% of my power. At least I didn¡¯t use 3%, so I technically won against Thoth. ¡°C¡¯mon, that was fun, right? You haven¡¯t been able to go seriously like that since our final battle, right?¡± I turn my head away, headed towards the door without replying. ¡°Aww, don¡¯t be like that. Answer me, it was fun right?¡± Thoth says as she suddenly hugs me from behind. I turn my head to look at her, who was looking up at me with an adorable expression. ¡°¡­yes.¡± I reply. I lost to that look, even though it was originally my own face. No, I¡¯m not a narcissist, but it¡¯s still adorable to see. ¡°Haha! That¡¯s right! Only I can actually make you unseal yourself in this small scale tournament, so that makes me a special friend, doesn¡¯t it!?¡± She says enthusiastically, running around theroom in circles. This was a fairly satisfying end, though, despite it being a tie between us. I leave the room with Thoth, heading out to the arena to hear the results. She runs out in front of me, and I follow from behind. The crowd¡¯s cheers filled the entire colosseum, all for the girl in front of me most likely. The platform was rebuilt, and the both of us climbed it, standing in the center together. ¡°And there they are, the two strongest angels in the first year! Because they ended in a tie, they both will be granted a special title that splits it between them! Besides, based on the friendly relation seen between them, I don¡¯t think that they¡¯ll mind it at all. So from now on, they will have a new title called the [Twin Angels of Obliteration]! The two girls with the power to destroy the entire area around them in their wake, together, they are an unstoppable force who will no doubt enter the higher [Immortal Tier] ranks!¡± Looks like we¡¯ve been given a new title as a pair. We were also given a tiara each, and the mini-ceremony was over. Apparently, there was going to be a proper award ceremony at the end of the tournament. All of this kind of made me happy. Before, Thoth and I were archenemies who were forced to kill each other. Now, we were both given a twin title that bonds us specially, a reason for us to help each other and become even closer friends. Though I would probably be known as some sort of [Dark Angel] while Thoth would be the [Light Angel]. I turn to face Thoth, who was shaking in excitement from the announcement. When she turned to me, though, her expression freezes as she sees my face for some reason. Her cheeks began turning red, and I tilt my head in confusion. She turns away immediately, and begins walking away while muttering something I couldn¡¯t hear. I quickly follow her out of the battlegrounds, and we leave the arena together. I failed to realize that I unconsciously smiled after hearing the announcement, and that the smile was the cause of Thoth¡¯s reaction. Side Story 3: The Team Deathmatch Side Story 3: The Team Deathmatch ¡°Welcome, to the [Inter-School Fall Tournament]!¡± All of my friends around me begian to cheer in celebration, excited for the tournament. I search the crowd to find Aria, but there were too many people for me to get sight of her. Most likely, she¡¯s probably standing alone near edge of the arena. She¡¯ll probably be fine on her own for now, so I¡¯ll stay here and wait until the events start. The principal continues making his speech about the tournament, but I ignore everything past the welcome because I could care less about anything else he says. ¡°Hey, Thoth, what¡¯cha thinking about? You¡¯re not being yourself right now, you know?¡± One of my friends ask me. A red haired boy about my height, yet, he¡¯s supposedly older than me. He had a strange name, Orima Tatsuki. He says his family is from the east, and they use a different language that uses different characters. Due to this, the names of places and people are influenced as well by the different language. Orima was the mage of our group, but I highly doubt that sometimes when I see him in combat. He¡¯s like some sort of monk when it comes to close ranged combat, beating down anyone who gets close to him with his staff. ¡°Yeah, yeah, you¡¯re so quiet! C¡¯mon, get excited! You¡¯re the leader here, so we can¡¯t have you get dispirited now!¡± A girl who¡¯s as tall as Aria says to me in a cheerful voice. A beautiful girl with long blond hair, and sky blue eyes, the girl¡¯s name is Eve Minawolt, part of the royal family in the kingdom of Kargia. Kargia is the neighboring kingdom to Atalin, and it was also known as the [Kingdom of Immortals]. Most of the [Immortal Tier] humans are from Kargia, and even most of the their citizens are in the upper ranks of the [Mortal Tier]. Their community is extremely aggressive though, conflicts leading to fights being a common sight within cities and towns in the kingdom. Eve¡¯s parent thought that she wouldn¡¯t do very well in a school full of such aggressive warriors, so she was sent here instead. I could understand why, though. This girl was as happy-go-lucky as Aria, doing whatever she wants and is fine with whatever happens as long as she¡¯s alive in the end. ¡°What, you¡¯re worried about me? Who do you think I am? There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll get dispirited before we even start! Quit making fun of me and let¡¯s get going to one of the underground rooms. We¡¯re going to warm up before starting, I don¡¯t want to hear any bad excuses if any of you screw up during battle.¡± I say to my team, and they all reply readily to my commands. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Is this seriously all you guys got!? At least scratch me before you guys start falling!¡± I yell at all of the other members, sprawled across the ground. ¡°Hah¡­ hah¡­ you¡¯re too fast Thoth¡­ I can only see you blurring¡­ it¡¯s not fair at all!¡± Eve complains while panting on the ground. ¡°You say that, but Mint was capable of seeing my attacks! Heck, she can still throw accurately when I move at that speed, and you¡¯re saying you can only see a blur!?¡± I¡¯m purposely yelling at them like this for training purposes. In order to have them get used to teamwork, I make them all battle me four against one. Although this means I won¡¯t be working with them, it¡¯s fine because I¡¯m the assassin who aims to kill stray opponents while they battle them head on. Even I met these four just last week, they¡¯ve improved greatly already, capable of synchronizing their attacks as if it was natural. Their ability to adapt to any situation was also amazing, able to improvise with anything they had on the spot. Although they were all more capable than the average warriors, they¡¯re still no match for someone like me. I was the former demon lord, after all, with hundreds of years of combat experience, and most of my old magic and combat skills. There was no way they¡¯d be able to actually hit me. The team consisted of 5 people total, the minimum amount required to participate in the group events. It wasn¡¯t very balanced, because we didn¡¯t have anyone with a proper defensive class nor did we have a healer, we¡¯re most just a bundle of offensive power. We¡¯ve been working on our teamwork and evasion, in order to make up for missing those two important aspects of a team. For our vanguard, we have our two fighters, Eve and her personal attendant from Kargia, Pandora. Eve was the heavy strength type, using a claymore much longer than her body and she was actually able to wear some platemail armor. She was the closest tank we had for a defensive warrior, but it¡¯s obviously not going to be enough when she¡¯s up against magic and combat techniques. Her partner, Pandora, is a mysterious boy. He always wore a black mask and a dark cloak, no matter what. We don¡¯t know anything personal about him, except for the fact that he was assigned to stick closely to Eve, and he doesn¡¯t talk much. He¡¯s a speed-type fighter, using two short swords for combat. He was fairly hard to keep up with, but he should be increasing his attack patterns. The only place he aims for is the head or the neck, which is a bit silly, but I can understand his thought process a bit. Those two areas are critical parts of the body, so attacking them can deal serious damage. What he doesn¡¯t realize, though, is that once his attack pattern is found out, it¡¯s easy to dodge and block against him. Though recently, I¡¯ve been training him personally on the human anatomy, telling him about other weak areas that can deal lethal wounds, and teaching him new attack patterns. Orima is our mage, but all he¡¯s good at is destructive magic. No enchantments, no healing ability, no curses for the enemy, nothing. Just pure power made for destruction. I was dumbfounded when he first told me this, but I realize that his offensive power isn¡¯t limited to only his magic. He¡¯s very proficient in close ranged combat while using his staff as a weapon, allowing us to leave him to defend for himself while the rest of the team goes on the offensive. Last and definitely not the least, is Mint Sylim. She¡¯s a very special girl, and in my opinion, the one with the most amount of talent on this team. Her class is a domestic one, called the [Weaver]. As the name implied, she was able to weave clothing, but she found a different way to use this ability, turning it into a dangerous power. After showing to us how she used it, her secret abilities are now our trump card. ¡°Well, it seems like we¡¯re out of time. The team event is going to start, so I¡¯m going to stop warm up here. Let¡¯s go win us a tournament, you monsters.¡± I end our warmup, ending with a little joke of mine. ¡°Monsters? Thoth, you here are the closest thing to a monster than any of us, and you know it.¡± Orima replies while rolling his eyes. ¡°Hahaha, I wonder what you¡¯re talking about?¡± I fake a confused look, pretending to be oblivious to this fact. We continue talking randomly as we leave the room, and head back above ground. Walking through an arched entrance into the arena, we arrive just in time to hear the announcer yell; ¡°¡­and finally, the main event for today has arrived! Everyone, get yourself ready, because you¡¯ll be seeing groups of friends go against other groups in battles consisting of well-developed teamwork, and amazing tactics! The event that every tournament has to have, the [Team Deathmatch]!¡± ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Orima, siege.¡± Eve tells our mage, as she dashes straight at the enemy vanguard with Pandora. Currently, we are in the semifinals of the [Team Deathmatch] event, conquering over every other team no matter the numbers or strength. Unlike in most team events, the [Inter-school Tournaments] has only a minimum and maximum amount of members. You can have a 5 man team go up against a 16 man group, which is the situation we are in now. Eve makes a dangerous call, but the best choice we have at the moment. Because they had more numbers, a siege of magic will surely dwindle their numbers quickly, and will barely affect ours. Eve and Pandora have trained their evasion immensely, and the teamwork between our group is top-notch, so it¡¯s unlikely that Orima will hit either of them as they try to attack the enemy vanguard head on. Meanwhile, I¡¯m at the edge of the arena, sprinting around to get behind enemy lines. The battlegrounds for this match is a cavern-like location, a dome of darkness surrounding the arena so that darkness covers most of the area. The only source of light were crystals on the floor of the caverns, but I was able to navigate around regardless. The dome was only dark on the inside, spectators could clearly see from the outside. I know this because this location was used before during one of the [10 v 10] battles. As I sprint around the edge, I encounter another assassin doing the same. Fortunately for me, these adventurers are rookies when it came to their roles, so I was easily able to notice his presence while hiding myself. Concealing myself by using illusion magic with my body flat against the wall, I wait for the rookie to run past me, before jumping out and grabbing him by the face. Before a second passed by, I already have his skull crushed against the ground, killing him instantly. Without wasting a second, I immediately start running again and arrive behind the enemy after about 15 seconds. There were 4 mages that were being guarded by two heavily armored warriors, while several swordsmen and spearmen try to battle Eve and Pandora, both who are causing havoc as several magic spells fall from the sky. It took all half of their mages to hold back Orima¡¯s siege, while the other half were casting spell back at him. They couldn¡¯t aim for Eve or Pandora, because they were currently right in the middle of their group. After casting a wave of spells, they all begin an incantation again, and I take this opportunity to strike. I sprint at them as fast as I can, reaching the mages and their guards within 5 seconds, before firing a [Shadow Lance] right at one of the armored men¡¯s chest. It¡¯s a skill that completely ignores armor, so it hits him head on and implodes his upper body. As his body falls, I grab his bastard sword and make an overhead swing at the next guard. My weapon shatters as they both hit, but I still continue swinging down before absorbing the force of the swing. Using that force, I thrust forward with the jagged tip, breaking through the guard¡¯s armor with raw strength, shoving the broken sword into his abdomen. The mages finally noticed that they were unprotected, and began to try and escape by running or magic. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I grab the spear of the guard I just killed and threw it at the furthest one running, while dashing around to stop the others escaping with a staff I stole from the closest mage after throwing the spear. Beating people to death with a magic staff is pretty satisfying, I can understand why Orima would want to learn this kind of combat. As I finish my job over here, I look over to see the rest of the team finishing off the remaining enemies. As soon as they kill the final guy, the bell rings, signifying the end of this battle. The crowd cheers for us as we walk out, putting Eve in a boastful mood when we returned. ¡°You see that? They were all amazed by the two man army we just did against that team!¡± She¡¯s already indirectly stating that she and Pandora won it for us. ¡°You know, you probably would¡¯ve been blown away by their magic if I wasn¡¯t distracting them with my own, right? Along with that, I got five of them myself, which is nearly one-third of their team.¡± Orima spoils her mood, which got him a glare from her. ¡°Details, details, at least we got the other 11 kills, right, Pandora?¡± She tries to reclaim some of her pride, but I deliver a final blow. ¡°No, I killed four mages, two heavy warriors and an enemy assassin. You two combined only got one-third of the kills. You were pretty much distracting them.¡± These words makes her fall to her knees, head down. Depressed at hearing that what she did is the equivalent to just bait while the others did the killing. ¡°Well, this was our final battle, right? Next round, we¡¯re going to let Mint loose, and show her off, right?¡± I nod in confirmation to Orima¡¯s question. For every battle so far, we¡¯ve held Mint back, keeping her at the starting area to hide her battle abilities. The reason being is that we just want to show off how capable our ¡®support¡¯ is. Just as planned, we were able to keep her hidden until the finals, so now we¡¯ll let her loose and watch her from behind. Honestly, I believe that she¡¯s just below my current level not in terms of status, but combat abilities and instincts. ¡°Then let¡¯s go end this! I want to see Mint fight, it¡¯s going to be so awesome to watch!¡± Eve says, already over her depression. As if on cue, the announcer speaks again. ¡°Finally, the last battle of this event is here! The final fight, Team 6 versus Team 13! A battle between the team with the strongest offensive capabilities against the team with the strongest defensive capabilities! Who is going to win, the unstoppable force, or the immovable wall!?¡± Over exaggerating the match up, he manages to hype up the crowd with this statement, everyone roaring with excitement. We re-enter the arena we just left, the battlegrounds already changed into a large, flat meadow of grass with absolutely no obstacles whatsoever. Just a giant, open field that seemed like something meant for war rather than small group combat. On the enemy team, was seven different people all wearing heavy armor, including their mage. Based on what the announcer said, it looks like these guys completely focused on their defense, their main force of offense is from the immense strength needed to wear the armor, and the mage they have. ¡°The immovable wall? Mint wins already, if all they¡¯re going to do is stand there for her!¡± Eve speaks her thoughts, and all of us agreed with it. ¡°Even if they did move, Mint would be able to restrain them in a blink of an eye.¡± Orima adds on, excitement in his voice as well. ¡°¡­p-p-please¡­ don¡¯t talk as if I¡¯m not here¡­¡± Her shy voice calls out from behind us. She was older than me as well, yet, she was actually shorter than I was. Brown hair with a long bangs that cover her eyes, she was as meek as she could possibly be. Kind of like a cute, little pet hamster. She was wearing a frilly, light blue dress, and a hair band with a rabbit on it. Despite her cute appearance though, this was the person that is easily the second strongest freshman in [Atalin¡¯s Royal Academy]. ¡°Sorry about that, Mint. They¡¯re all excited to see you go out there, you know? Remember, we¡¯ll be right behind you in case anything goes wrong, but I believe in you. So go make us proud, got it?¡± I gave her a pep talk like I did to my daughter in my previous life, a few months before my death. It was a bit of a nostalgic feeling, talking to a young child like this. Before I realize it, I¡¯m patting her head like I used to do with my daughter, and I pull back immediately. Mint was looking up at me though, with flushed cheeks, before giving me a smile and nodding her head enthusiastically. Although it was nice to see, I feel like I¡¯m betraying Aria somehow, even though I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve done nothing wrong yet. ¡°Okay then, the final battle shall start now! Three, two, one and go!¡± The announcer counts down quickly, and the bell rings as soon as he finishes. A second after, Mint slowly starts walking towards the enemy team on the opposite direction, while the rest of us just stand there and watch her. After taking a few steps, she turns around and waves at us, before facing them again. The enemy group just watched as Mint slowly walked to the center of the arena, not doing a single thing. All outside noise was blocked out from the arena, but I can already imagine the announcer saying something along the lines of; ¡°What is going on here exactly? Why is Team 6 sending a single person alone? I haven¡¯t even seen that child participate in any of their battles so far! What is the meaning of this!?¡± When Mint closes three-fourths of the distance, the mage on the enemy team finally does something and fires an arrow of stone, which landed right in front of her. It seems to be some sort of warning, they were probably having conflicting feelings about this situation. In response to the arrow, Mint stops walking immediately. The arena was completely silent, so everyone was able to hear her next words. ¡°¡­hello¡­ my name is Mint¡­ and I¡¯m sorry for having to do this to you.¡± She makes a courteous bow as she says these words, lifting the hem of her dress slightly. Then, she reaches at her thighs and grabs at something before spinning in a full circle with her arms out, palms wide opened. As if she didn¡¯t grab anything at all, there was nothing at all. At least, that¡¯s what it appeared to me. She makes another spin, and as she does this, the enemy mage fires several arrows at her while the other men raised their spears and shield before advancing slowly. It was already too late for them, though. Not a single one of the arrows hit though, they all randomly burst into pieces within a ten meter range around Mint. She thrusts her hands down and digs her fingers into the ground. After a whole second, the enemy advance stops immediately. Pulling her arms back above ground, she clenches her hands into fists and stretched her arms back. Loud screams come from the enemy team, as they¡¯re somehow being forced onto their knees, while there were long cuts within their armor. ¡°There we go, Mint. Now, light them up.¡± I encourage her quietly, and as if she heard me, fire bursts from her fingers in thin lines headed towards the enemy team. As the flames enter the cuts of their armor, every single one of them explodes individually. The heat of the fire can be felt all the way here, at the other side of the arena. When they subside, all that was left were deep craters in the area where they all stood. The [Weaver of Magic], is our team¡¯s nickname for Mint. The [Weaver] class is used for tailoring and enchanting clothing. Mint made use of the enchanting magic for these threads, and developed her own style of combat. With this style, she is able to give special properties to strings, threads and wires, allowing her to combine different properties for a large arsenal of magic attacks. On her thighs, she has several strands of ultra-thin string, and in combat, she¡¯s able to attach the ends of the string to her fingers by changing the property to ¡®sticky.¡¯ That¡¯s what she did when she bowed to the enemy team. After that, with two years of practice, she¡¯s managed to learn how to manipulate the thread in every possible way by using magic directly to turn it midflight or keep it still in the air. When the magic arrows were deflected earlier, those were the threads creating a barrier around her. Not only can she manipulate them within the air, but she can also do so in the earth, which is why she dug her hands into the ground after creating the barrier. The threads emerged from the earth under them and wrapped around their armor. After attaching them, she gave the properties of the thread ¡®sharpness,¡¯ pulling on them to cut through their armor. For the final blow, the properties of the thread were mostly changed into flammable, except for the string that was directly in contact with the enemy. Those had the properties of ¡®explosive,¡¯ which is the reason why they spontaneously combusted. This girl is another existence to fear alongside Aria. With mastery of magic unique only to her, she has an arsenal just as great as Aria herself, capable of destroying kingdoms on her own. Though I have absolutely no doubt that if they were in a direct confrontation on equal grounds, Aria would win without a doubt. That still doesn¡¯t change the fact that Mint is dangerous, though. Mint slowly walks back to us after completing her show of destruction, and we all cheer at her for the victory. A smile appeared on her face, clearly happy that she managed to satisfy us with the show. Again, I pat her head, but just like last time, I have the feeling of betraying Aria, so I stop immediately. In the next event, we actually used Mint in our battles, and killed the enemy team right away rather than take the flag. With our teamwork and combat prowess amongst the first years, we easily won the entire rookie tournament without proper competition. Only if Aria was actually participating, we¡¯d have a challenge but also lose badly, as well. Side Story 4: The Spectators Sides Side Story 4: The Spectator''s Sides
Side Story 4-1: The Valkyrie¡¯s Story ¡°Three, two, one, and let the race to the [Hill] begin!¡± The bell rings as the announcer finishes counting down, and every participant began sprinting to the pyramid placed in the center of the arena. The battlegrounds was known as the [Battlefield of Kir Vakus], an attempt to replicate one of the great three ruins of the Demon Race. It wasn¡¯t very accurate at all, the obelisks were twice the size of these, the pyramid more steep, and there was a monolith at the top of it. I know this, because I lived through the event myself. Year 452, Atalin sent over half of their army to invade [Kir Vakus], the largest structure erected at the time. This was also the human¡¯s first aggressive move, which was quite a risky thing for them to send such a large portion of their forces. They also sent the [Hero], though, which was a good choice by them. During battle, he supported our infantry from the back using [Lightning Magic] to obliterate their front lines, and [Ice Magic] to stop their cavalry. He alone was enough to defend against the [Demon Magic] casted by enemy mages. The power of his magic was enough to completely shatter all the obelisks in the battlefield, and he even destroyed the monolith at the top of the pyramid, which was deemed an object that would never fall. Thoth truly was a [Hero], a figure of absolute power in the war against the Demons. It¡¯s what got me interested in him, and I immediately started following him about a month after traveling into this world. Back then, my name was ¡®Avantalya Gard,¡¯ but I changed it several times over the years to hide my previous identity. After the [Hero]¡¯s death, people tried to search for his ¡®partner,¡¯ which was me, so it was necessary. That man, he was a complete taciturn. I always try to communicate with him, but he never replies with more than four words. Sometimes, he doesn¡¯t reply at all and communicate with actions. I remember one time he didn¡¯t say a single word for over 8 months, which annoyed me greatly. The atmosphere around him was always tranquil, though, something I admired about him greatly. During the final invasion at the [Demon Lord¡¯s Castle], which was ironically named [Epiphany] by dumb scholars later as time went by, Thoth forcibly kept me from coming with him by using his strongest binding magic, [Chains of Gravity]. A spell that binds the target to the very ground with ethereal chains, essentially keeping them still without opposition. The downside to this kind of spell is that it could easily be disabled from any outside force, but he was able to cast it on me while we were alone, just before he went on his expedition. I didn¡¯t expect him to know such a powerful spell, and anxiety filled my heart as he walked away and left me there. He knew that even a valkyrie like me cannot break the force of these chains. Stuck there for 2 days and night, the chains suddenly disappeared, and I panicked instantly. The only other way to disable the chains was the caster¡¯s death. As fast as I could, I spread my wings out and flew towards the castle. Upon arrival, battle was still raging outside the castle, and it looks like no one has entered it yet. I enter through a large hole in the roof, which lead to the throne room. It had obvious signs of destruction from an intense battle, and I immediately began to fly around in search for the [Hero] and the [Demon Lord] . Killing all other demons inside the castle, I could not find the corpse of the two powerful existences anywhere. All that was left, was the demons that I killed, and a ruined throne room with the ceiling completely destroyed. I was filled with grief, being unable to find a single thing related to him in that room. After that, I disappeared from this world as well, for over 2 millenniums. It was only recently that I¡¯ve gotten over the depression of his death, and now I¡¯ve returned to try and live my life normally. At least, that was my previous goal until I had a nostalgic scene. ¡°...name¡­ Aria Brynhildr¡­¡± A girl wrapped completely in bandages like a mummy introduces herself at the front of the class. She introduced herself in the exact same way as Thoth did when we first met. He spoke two words, which was ¡®name¡¯ and ¡®Thoth.¡¯ Along with that, she was as socially awkward as he was, unable to properly speak to other classmates. Despite this, when she was left alone, the atmosphere around her was as tranquil as it could possibly get. After the removal of those bandages, the effect increased even further, and the students are now looking at her in awe. From what I¡¯ve heard, she¡¯s also a genius in magic, capable of freely manipulating it like some sort of light show. This girl had similarities to Thoth, and it makes my heart ache when I see her. Taciturn, tranquil aura, high magic capability, Today, though, I was going to find another similar aspect she has with Thoth. ¡°What just happened!? There¡¯s already someone at the top of the [Hill]!? It¡¯s only been five seconds since the bell just rung!¡± As the announcer said, there was someone already at the top, and when I saw who it was, I nearly got a heart attack. ¡°Who is this mysterious girl!? She has not participated in any of the prior events, is this the first time she¡¯s entered!?¡± A girl stood at the top of the pyramid, already there in a blink of an eye. ¡°It appears so. This girl is from [Krystalis Academy], who has an unknown reputation among the students. Her ability in combat is also unknown, the only thing on her profile is that she¡¯s capable of magic.¡± The second announcer replies to the first one. ¡°Let me see that! Okay then, I got her name! Right now, the first [King] of the [Hill], taking it over on the sixth second since the start, is Aria Brynhildr!¡± As he said that, it was Aria, the girl that was extremely similar to the [Hero]. She stood at the top of that pyramid, and released an aura I was extremely familiar with. 2,000 years ago before and during every battle, this same aura would be felt across the vicinity, giving a sense of imminent death to all those that feels it. The unique aura developed by Thoth¡¯s nonexistent sense of morality, killing all of those that oppose him, the [Aura of the Heartless]. Something that should¡¯ve been unique to only the [Hero], this girl was using right now. In one hand, she held a [Magic Gun]. In the other, she held a dagger. Staring down at the crowd of warriors at the bottom of the pyramid, she spoke four bold words that challenged all of them. A statement that was the equivalent to saying no matter what they do, they won¡¯t take her down. ¡°I. Am. The. King.¡± A complete bloodbath occurred right after that. Just like Thoth, she did better when there was a cluster of enemies surrounding her, using the corpses of their allies as meat shields and weapons. She never took more than 3 hits to kill someone, and used their own weapons against them sometimes. Unaffected by the mass murder she was currently committing, she continues to mow down their numbers and her enemies¡¯ morale began dropping. Soon enough, no one else dared to walk up the pyramid, due to them all suffering the pain of death once already. The way they died wasn¡¯t very nice as well, giving them a sense of fear when fighting against her. So for a while, she stood up there alone, covered in blood as if she just dived into a pool of it and climbed out. Despite being dyed in red, she was still a beautiful figure, and the tranquil aura naturally began returning. Only one person ascended the stairs, and quickly, that tranquility disappeared. It was replaced by the new aura that covered the entire arena. One that I was familiar with as well, because I felt it during the war against the Demon Race. An aura that declared the absolute destruction of everything around it, only held by the [Demon Lord], the [Aura of Annihilation]. The person who held this was a small child, who had the exact same appearance as Thoth. Even the same name, and seeing her also made my heart ache. The biggest difference between her and the [Hero], though, was their personality. Based on her interactions with the people surrounding her, she was the total opposite of the previous Thoth. Her combat style was different as well, and she used a variety of [Darkness Magic] and [Demon Magic]. Something that a child shouldn¡¯t know at all. Stolen story; please report. Right now, two people with common aspects to the [Hero] are about to battle. A girl with the same personality and abilities, versus a girl with the same appearance and name. When the battle started, the combat abilities they display are beyond those of children. It was faster and stronger than anything I¡¯ve seen before by the Humans. If I witnessed the battle between the [Hero] and the [Demon Lord], it would most likely be similar to this. Two insane powers clashing against each other, using everything they had to win. At first, they''re on a stalemate, taking over in speed and power. Suddenly, Aria had a massive increase in power, her speed and strength increased about twofold. After the power surge, she completely dominated the battle, the opponent being nothing more than a fragile doll to her. I didn¡¯t care about her victory, though. There was one thing I noticed during that battle, a spell was used that hasn¡¯t been learnt by any [Spatial Mage] in history yet. The [Spatial Magic] unlocked upon increasing the proficiency to level 8, [Teleport]. Aria Brynhildr was said to be a genius in magic. This is beyond genius, a realm of skill that only one other existence in the history of humans. A young child who was about 13 years old, had the mana supply of an advanced mage, dual wielded a [Magnum] and a dagger, knew [Gun Magic], and has the combat ability to slay over one hundred other people on her own. She also completely mastered both [Light Magic] and [Dark Magic], otherwise she wouldn¡¯t be able to use [Spatial Magic]. With that, her [Spatial Magic] was beyond level 8, because she was capable of using [Teleport].From what I can see right now, her status is nearing level 100. In the past, a small percentage of humans has surpassed it during their teen years. But when the level limit still existed, and experience was much harder to obtain, only one human reached that limit in 15 years, even maxing his status. Now, there¡¯s a girl with such extreme similarity to him, nearing the limit as well at 13 years old. With these facts, I put the pieces together and came to a conclusion. This girl is a reincarnation of [Thoth], naturally having the same personality and aspects of the [Hero]. She trained her powers for many years straight, and is doing even greater than she did in the past. I¡¯ve heard of this happening many times, where people revive with a personality or appearance extremely similar to a deceased person. In this case, the [Hero] was revived into two different people. One inherited the appearance, while the other inherited the personality and abilities. Both were monstrous existences, and this was the only proper way to explain it. At least, as far as I know, it was. ¡°Thoth¡­ I¡¯ve found you again¡­¡± I whisper to myself. A warm feeling wells up in my chest, and a smile runs across my face. Although it wasn¡¯t exactly him, his soul was definitely passed onto these two, and knowing that someone I held dear was alive in a different way, any remaining grief in my heart disappeared. Previously, my goal was to live life normally. Now, I want to watch over these two, and make sure that they won¡¯t suffer a terrible fate. ¡°This time, I¡¯ll be the one protecting you, Thoth.¡± I leave the arena after this, with a new sense of duty within me.
Side Story 4-2: The Melancholy of the Genius ¡°Wow, you¡¯re so talented, you¡¯ll definitely become a [Legend Tier] adventurer!¡± I¡¯ve heard this phrase, and many other compliments similar to it. Whenever people see me in battle with the [Wheldin POS] in hand, they compliment me like that. The gun was given to me by my deceased father, who was in a special task force within the [Atalin Royal Army]. My mother was also in the army as a well known medic, so she was often out of the house, and I grew up alone. My dad died about four years after I was born, and this gun was my last memento of him. I inherited his class, and sense of battle, training myself in [Gun Magic] as I grew up. The class I inherit is called the [Soldier of Efficiency]. Through this rare class, all mana costs related to using a gun is reduced by 60%. With this, I inherited my mother¡¯s large mana supply, and combining these two perks I had allowed myself to be able to use an automatic weapon full of projectile enchantment. Due to this, I¡¯ve become a bit overconfident in my abilities. I thought that I would be the strongest person here. Until I saw that lone girl at the top of the pyramid, the victor of the [King of the Hill] event. When she first entered, she gave off a tranquil feeling, but had the appearance of an ice queen. Now, she was dyed in crimson red, and gave off a feeling of a cool beauty that won¡¯t be dominated. Aria Brynhildr, the girl who captured my heart. I met her earlier that day, on my way into one of the underground rooms to train with a couple of friends I had. On my way, when I encountered her, I was captivated by her beauty. I didn¡¯t see her in any of the other events, so I was confused as to why she was here. Based off the intimidating presence she gave off, and the powerful look she had in her eyes, I immediately knew that she was strong. Often I find that I¡¯m being confessed to by other girls, and I accepted the first few. After that, I rejected every other confession I got, bored of the women that sought me. Now, for the first time, I found someone that I was interested in myself. Although I¡¯ve been confessed to, I¡¯ve never made one myself, but it couldn¡¯t be that hard based on my experiences. Believing that she¡¯s truly the one for me, I¡¯m currently aiming to befriend her, before getting close enough to become her lover. When I saw her name on the list of participants in the [Free For All], I believed that this was my chance. First, in order to confirm my thoughts about her, I tested her speed by firing bullets at her, and sure enough, she dodged every single one of them. This was probably a bad first impression on my end, I had no idea what I was thinking to suddenly propose to her after attacking her like that. It did manage to catch her off guard, though, causing her to freeze. From this reaction, I could tell that she was a pure soul, someone who¡¯s never been in this situation before. Unfortunately afterward, I had my head buried into a rock by an unknown third party. I found out later that it was Thoth Farlite who did this, and the timing of that attack was strange, so I assumed that she had a special relation with Aria. After that event, I tried proposing her a second time during the [1 v 1], setting a sort of challenge for myself while I was at it. Throughout the tournament, I held back my [Gun Magic], and I felt confident that I wouldn¡¯t lose to anyone when I used it. I was wrong, and I payed the price greatly. I was killed in a single offensive strike, despite the fact that I fired several waves of bullets at her to try and suppress her. Now, I stood in one of the underground rooms of the arena, thinking about the events of today and yesterday. Through my life, I often got what I wanted, and I rarely ever wanted anything. A pair of combat boots, light armor, and several visiting sessions at the castle to watch other soldiers. For the first time, I wanted something completely unrelated to combat. A cool beauty stronger than anyone else in Atalin, I wanted to have the [Angel of Annihilation] as my lover. The fact that my proposal failed twice hit me hard, and I was depressed for about two hours. I got over it, and began formulating a different plan. Love isn¡¯t an easy thing to achieve, I need to slowly build my relation with her. Sudden proposals like that will never work, but if I take it nice and steady, I may have the chance to improve my relation. When time is right, I¡¯ll make the proposal again. Until then, I will never give up on her. With new resolve, I leave the room all excited to find Aria. I wanted to at least try and talk to her. Our relation had a strange start to it, so if I fix that now, it¡¯ll make things easier for me in the future. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t realize that she had already left the arena, because she wasn¡¯t going to participate in the remaining events. So I spent my time fruitlessly looking for her.
2 little short stories based on how others see Aria so far. I¡¯ll be getting back to the main story after this. Chapter 28: The Events Not Taken Seriously Chapter 28: The Events Not Taken Seriously ¡°Here we are, everyone! The final day of the [Inter-School Fall Tournament], with the most wildest events we have thought up!¡± The principal yells out. The crowd cheers in excitement, and he continues with his usual speech to hype them up for the final day. While this happened, I was still deciding what events to join. Just as he said, every event was wild, completely strange and some seemed impossible to complete. Rather than battle events, this seemed to be more like party events; [Surprise Cooking] [Food Rush] [Arcane Show] [Equipment Crafting] [Quick Shot] [Death Run] [Untouchable] ¡°For these events, you can join them individually or as a team! They are all unique in their own way, so for adventurers who aren¡¯t as good in close combat, they can show off here! Now, I hope everyone here has a good time, and enjoy the final day of the tournament!¡± The principal finishes off his speech, and the day begins for the tournament. I joined four of the events. [Surprise Cooking], [Quick Shot], [Death Run] and [Untouchable]. I wasn¡¯t in the mood to use magic in extravagant ways, I don¡¯t eat very much and I have no idea how to craft any equipment. Therefore, I go with things I¡¯m likely to do better at. I¡¯ve never cooked before, either, but I¡¯ve seen my mother do it along with several other soldiers in my previous life, so it couldn¡¯t be too difficult. The [Surprise Cooking] event is first, so people that weren¡¯t participating left the grounds immediately. About one-sixth of the adventurers remain, who I assume has the minimum knowledge in cooking, unlike me. I recognize one of them from Thoth¡¯s team, a boy who was dressed in a robe and had a staff. The mage of the group was capable of cooking, which made a little bit of sense. Back then, there were several mages who studied alchemy alongside cooking. ¡°Okay everyone, in a minute, a huge pile of ingredients will be brought out by other staff members! You are all free to choose whatever you like, and when an ingredient runs out, more will be brought in! That means, no hoarding because it won¡¯t result in anything! Also, you have a time limit of 30 minutes to cook what you like! All of you can cook whatever you¡¯d like, but a random category will be chosen at the end! So don¡¯t just try to cook the most delicious thing you can, maybe it¡¯ll be a contest to the most exotic looking food, or the best dessert! Here comes the staff member, and the event will begin in about a minute!¡± The rules are explained, and the tournament staff brings in large tables and several ingredients to use. Several stoves and ovens were brought in as well, and I assume they were magic powered because there were no electrical cables coming from them. Tables, plates and bowls were brought in along with cooking utensils, and there were enough of these for every participant. It was pretty much a small, open aired kitchen that can conveniently be used anywhere. At the center of the arena, was a massive line of tables, full of ingredients. What I¡¯m most amazed about is how fast they were able to set this up, and the amount of ingredients and tools they have. After the table is set with the ingredients, the bell rings and the event starts. Every participant rushes to the tables in the center and began grabbing at several different ingredients. A few other participants, including me, head towards the nearest kitchen and grab some of the bowls to help with the ingredient collection. I did everything slowly, though, walking to the tables to the ingredients and walking back to the kitchen to drop them off. After getting a random assortment of things I think will be good for cooking, I turn on the stove by pouring mana into it. There was a small metal sheet on the stove with a hand print on it, similar to the one in the firing range at Jiriko¡¯s armory. Inserting mana into this will activate the device, the mana acting as a replacement for electricity. I grab a nearby pot and poured water into it, and put it on the stove. After turning the heat on to the max, I turn to the cutting board nearby and place both the vegetables and the meat on it. Cabbages, carrots, pork, beef, chicken, tomatoes, all those stuff. Raising a butcher¡¯s knife, I slam it onto the ingredients and dice them all as fast as I can. After that, I pour everything I just cut right into the pot. Next, I look at the spices I grabbed from the table. Based from what I¡¯ve seen, adding these makes the food taste better, so it¡¯s fine if I just pour them all in, right? I put random amounts of spices into the pot, before starting to mix it. The water color was a bit strange, and there was a lot of black steam coming out of it, but I continue anyway. After about 5 minutes, I turn off the heat and let it sit there. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s just me, but it looked a bit strange. A large portion of the water evaporated, and the contents looked a bit dark. It didn¡¯t turn out as I expected, but I mean, I put all the vegetables, meat and spices in, so it should taste fine. I finished slightly earlier than others, and I watch the other participants finish their cooking. All of them had extravagant looking dishes, some of them seemed more like works of art rather than dishes that are made to be eaten. Comparing to mine, it kind of depressed me, but it doesn¡¯t really affect me that much. ¡°Okay, time¡¯s up everyone! Everyone has their cooking finished, right? Now, we shall spin the wheel of cooking!¡± The announcer yells out, and the tournament staff brings in an oversized wheel with 9 evenly divided parts to it. In each one, displayed a different category of taste which was [Sweet], [Bitter], [Sour], [Tasteless], [Delicious], [Healthy], [Spicy], [Beautiful], [Poison]. ¡°For each category, we have a professional critic for them! So which category will it be!? Let¡¯s find out right now!¡± Three of the staff members spin the large wheel with all their might, and it rotates at a rapid speed. After about 5 seconds of spinning, it starts to slow down, and it eventually stops on a category I definitely lost in. [Beautiful] food. ¡°What a lovely category! The best looking food here, huh? For this, rather than a food critic, we have an art critic here to judge for this category. Everyone, welcome the [Eyes of Heaven], Guivalyn Rodella!¡± A man walks in waving to the crowd that¡¯s cheering for him. Contrary to the reason he¡¯s here, the man didn¡¯t look beautiful at all. An unshaven face, an extremely hairy body, and he was a bit obese. I say a bit, but if I had to guess his weight, it¡¯d be well over 150 kilograms. Immediately, he began going around and examining the different dishes made by the participants. For some reason, he taste tested them as well, despite the fact that he¡¯s supposed to be judging by looks, not tastes. Eventually, he reaches my dish as the final one, grimacing when he saw mine. Well, it didn¡¯t look very nice, and he¡¯s apparently someone who appreciates art. Obviously I¡¯ll be getting the lowest amount of points. ¡°1 point. Disgusting color, terrible appearance.¡± He says. Despite saying this, he takes the ladle in the pot and lifts it to his mouth, drinking some of it. A second after, his face turns purple, and he falls to his knees. He coughs and wheezes, before starting to roll around on the ground with his hands on his neck. ¡°What¡¯s going on!? What¡¯s happened to Guivalyn!? Did Aria go for the [Poison] category that no one else tried!? It seems as if the critic¡¯s been poisoned!¡± After about 5 seconds of rolling around, Guivalyn¡¯s body went limp. Several staff members rushed out and carried his body away, while the announcer states some very harsh words. ¡°And there¡¯s the conclusion! Aria has poisoned the food critic, killing him within 5 seconds! For sure, she would¡¯ve won the [Poison] category if that was chosen instead! So for the first time, in an event with Aria, someone else has won besides her! Orima Tatsuki is the winner of the [Surprise Cooking] event!¡± I wasn¡¯t properly listening at this point, because I was busy sulking near the edge of the arena after reading the two numbers on the ground. Was my cooking really that bad? I added only good things, though, why did it turn out like that? Two good things make a good product, right? I continue crouching in place until Thoth came to pick me up, trying to cheer me up. She¡¯s such a great friend. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Welcome, everyone, to the [Quick Shot] event! As you all can see, a large make-shift firing range has been created in the arena, and an entire armory worth of weapons is laid out. At the end of the firing range, several circular targets are placed there, exactly 75 meters away. In this event, all the participants have to do is just throw these weapons or fire at them with a bow as fast and accurately as they can. The more throws you make that hits, the more points you get. The more accurate the throw is, the more points you get.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. So basically, fire as many times as you can and try to hit the center of the target every time. Down the range, there¡¯s about ten targets lined up next to each other, and a long fence of stone is placed to mark the area where you have to fire behind. The targets themselves were etherealized, so most likely the projectiles will pass right through them and points will be added on depending on the landing area. ¡°It will be an elimination event, where every one minute, the 5 people with the lowest amount of points at the end will be disqualified. The only weapons not allowed in this event are guns, but every thing else is fine. Is everyone ready!?¡± The crowd of people around me yells out in reply, and the announcer immediately starts counting down. The bell rings and most of the participants go to the area with the bow, while some grabs daggers and hatchets nearby. Just as the announcer said, it was similar to a whole armory just being brought out into the open. The bow would be the best weapon here, but that would be boring. Honestly, I just wanted to fool around around, so I unsealed 10 of my marks in total, obtaining 10% of my strength. Instead of using daggers and bows, I head towards the area with the largest weapons, and grab two javelins. Walking to the firing zone, where several people are already aiming their bows, I raise one of the javelins in my right hand. I take a step forward, and throw it down the range with all my strength. The javelin flies through like a bullet, and goes straight through the center of one of the targets, immediately getting me 10 points. I quickly raise the second javelin, and throw as hard as I can again, hitting the center of the target for a second time. When I return to grab more javelins, I see that the ones I just used is back where it previously was. The weapons return automatically upon going through the target, it seems. Did the mages of this era manage to develop [Spatial Magic] even further? I wasn¡¯t aware that spells like this existed, so it interests me greatly. But for now, I want to complete this event as the top marksman. This time, I grab four halberds, carrying them all on my shoulders as I walk through. People clear the way for me when they see me, not wanting to get close to me with intimidating halberds on my shoulder. I place three of them on the ground, and raise one over my shoulder. Like a javelin, I turn my chest, take a step forward, and throw the halberd with all my might. The angle was a bit weirder this time, but I still managed to get an accurate shot at the target. Then, I throw the other three halberds just like javelins, getting accurate shots left and right. After that, I begin fooling around with different weapons for fun. This was the reason why I unsealed my marks, to casually lift the heavy weaponry. Throwing longswords like daggers, spinning around with battle axes and releasing them at the targets, swinging flails over my head and destroying the chain with a sword to fire it at the target. I continue my shenanigans for about 20 minutes, and the other ones left were me, a very short girl from Thoth¡¯s team, two bowmen and a man who was very good at throwing daggers and hatchets at high speed. ¡°¡­you¡¯re really good with weapons.¡± The short girl says to me. I lower the claymore I was just about to toss, and turn to nod at her. A smile appears on her face before she asks, ¡°You¡¯re Thoth¡¯s friend, right?¡± Again, I nod in reply, but this time, a saddened look appeared on her face for a second. It disappeared quickly, and she turns away to continue firing down the range. If I recall, she had a unique way of combat, using strings and threads for her attacks and spells. For this event, she tied her strings to the handle of daggers and hatchets, and swung them down into the range right at the targets. That ability of hers really impressed me, it was a one-of-a-kind combat style that I¡¯ve never seen or heard of before. She was capable of fighting in long and close ranged combat, a very powerful force to be reckoned with. Another minute went by, and the final elimination was set. Winning by a landslide with over 800 points, no one even came close to my score. The outcome was fairly obvious from the start, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time in this event. I haven¡¯t done anything silly like this since the fourth battle of the war in my previous life. Out of boredom, I threw random arsenals of weapons at the enemy. I was trying to see how far I could throw them, and still hit the enemy archers accurately. Ends up with 2,000 strength, I could destroy their castle gates from a little over a mile away with 27 javelins, lances, broadswords and war hammers. ¡°You cheated by unsealing yourself, didn¡¯t you?¡± Thoth immediately says to me when she enters the arena. ¡°¡­bored.¡± I reply. ¡°Bored!? Is that a proper reason to ruin an event by completely going ¡®Easy Mode¡¯ to throw weapons like rubber balls!? Wow, I¡¯m just as astonished as I was when I was a [Demon King]. You know, when I heard that you tore down the castle gates of [Ivirnis] like this, I didn¡¯t believe it until I got confirmation from 3 other [Demon Generals].¡± She tries to lecture me on the spot, but stops immediately because the bell rung, signaling that the next event was going to start. We both leave the grounds, and stand at the entrance into it. The arena starts shifting, the firing range being sucked into the ground and several structures emerge from the ground. An obstacle course is created, and it was divided into four areas. ¡°Here comes the most dangerous event for today, which anyone could guess just by hearing it¡¯s name! The [Death Run] is an obstacle course with traps that lead to instant death! There are four stages in total, which gets harder as you progress. ¡°The first stage is simple, you just have to run straight through the field full of pitfalls and pillars of fire! In the second stage, you have to climb an extremely steep and slippery wall full of holes. Inside of these holes are monstrous insects and arrow traps, so be careful about where you grab! The third stage is a free fall straight down, and on the way down, there¡¯s going to be several bursts of lightning and bullets, which you have to avoid. There will be a landing net that will safely catch you, but if you miss it, you will fall into a pit of spikes! The final stage is a maelstrom of magic and blades flying in the air, as you climb up a tower with a complex path to the top! ¡°Participants will be going in waves of 20 runners every time, and the times they finish will be recorded. The fastest one is the winner of the event, and those who die will gain nothing. Magic and weapons are allowed for self defense, but any attempt to disable or prevent other participants from getting ahead will have the offender immediately disqualified. Flight magic is restricted, due to obvious reasons. Those are the rules, and I hope the participants will enjoy this deadly race!¡± This event sounds really interesting. I¡¯m kind of glad I decided to join it. Sealing back 9 of my marks, I¡¯ll participate in this event normally and see if I can make it through without dying. I doubt that anyone besides Thoth and I will actually make it to the end. In the corner of my vision, I see her stretching her legs, preparing for the run. Just like the tournament ladder, a green screen appears above the announcer¡¯s booth, with a list of participants. It states when each wave will go, and who will run during a wave. Both Thoth¡¯s name and my own are in the first wave, which excites me. I get to race against my rival immediately, so we¡¯ll have a contest of speed this time. Everyone in the first wave of runners head to the starting line, the race about to start. ¡°Okay then, Aria, this time, you¡¯re going to be left behind in the dust! I clearly win in a contest of speed, based on our fights!¡± Thoth says to me with a smirk as we walk to the starting point. ¡°¡­the fights you lose?¡± I retort. Her face instantly pouts in reaction to this, before she punches my shoulder. Hard. ¡°Shut up! You just had seven or eight illusions sprinting around, no way I¡¯ll keep up with that! And the second time, you cheated! You better be using only one mark this time, you dirty cheater!¡± She turns away from me and increase her walking speed, leaving me behind. What a sore loser. Sometimes I think that she takes these things too seriously. Chapter 29: The Tournament Finale Chapter 29: The Tournament Finale ¡°First 20 runners, are you ready!?¡± The announcer¡¯s voice resounds through the speakers surrounding the stadium. The crowd of people around me yell back, including Thoth. ¡°Okay then! Then, I¡¯m going to start counting down for the death run! Three! Two! One! GO!¡± Everyone surrounding me began to yell out aggressively, before sprinting down the first section of this obstacle course. A long, rectangular platform laid out in front of me. It spanned about 100 meters, and on it, are several hundred circles both big and small. They covered the entire surface area of the platform, so there was no way we could step in between and avoid them easily. I assume that the pillars of fire and the spikes will emerge from these. The big ones lit red, before fire emerged from it, while the small ones emit a white light, before a spike bursts out. After examining the platform and identifying the traps, I do the same thing everyone else is. I just run straight through the platform of deathtraps. Enchanting myself with a wind spell, [Zephyr Steps], allowing glide on a smooth surface as if I¡¯m sliding on it. As spikes and fire suddenly bursts from the ground, I curve around them naturally, weaving my way through. I pass by some corpses that were unable to avoid the traps, and even surpassed some of the living runners, who began going through cautiously. ¡°¡­hi.¡± I whisper to a certain someone as I slide by them. ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s how you want to play, huh!?¡± She yells at me as I widen the gap between us. I feel a massive amount of mana being released behind me, and I start gliding faster. I reach the second section of the race, which was the climb to the top. A wall of ice stands in front of me, going up at a strange angle that leans towards me. Several holes were carved into it, which the racers are supposed to use to climb it. Using [Enhanced Detection], I can detect the presence of several other creatures in these holes, I mark them in my mind so that I avoid them as I climb. I start my ascent, inserting my hand into empty holes and pulling myself upward on the acutely angled wall. After about five seconds of climbing, I hear a click as I insert my left hand in one of the holes. I instantly react by pulling it back out, and nearly lost my grip on the slippery ice, as an arrow flies out of the hole I just grabbed. Right, the announcer also said something about this, arrows and monsters are placed in these holes. Unfortunately, there was no way for me to actually detect these arrow traps, so I can only avoid the monsters as I continue to climb. Every time I hear a click, I would pull my hand out immediately so the arrow doesn¡¯t hit my hand. Doing this slowed me down quite a bit, though. Eventually, a certain energetic monkey-like person climbs by me in a flash, moving faster than the monsters and traps can hit her. She makes it to the top before me, disappearing from my vision. I reach the top as well after about ten seconds, climbing over the sharp edge at the top. Upon climbing over, I see a straight path to the next section, which took the form of going straight down. It looked way deeper than the ground level of the arena. Inside it, was a mayhem of bullets flying upward along with bolts of lightning. How the heck do these guys expect first years to be able to complete these? Are they stupid? Do they not have any common sense? After my short moment of complaints, I immediately leap into the giant pitfall. Thoth was probably at the bottom by now, so I can¡¯t spend time patiently contemplating the thought process of the higher ups. I begin free falling through the storm of lightning and bullets, using bursts of wind magic to push me, allowing me to dodge some of them. Due to the speed of these projectiles, though, I wasn¡¯t able to dodge most of them. I took some of the bolts because I couldn¡¯t see it coming, and there were far too many bullets, making it impossible to weave through without a scratch. At least, with my current agility. I eventually see the large landing net that the announcer told us about earlier, and directed myself into it by using wind magic. After landing in the net, the storm around me stops coming. It seems upon reaching the landing net it turns into a safe zone from the mayhem of projectiles. Looking up, I notice that the bolts of lightning and the storm of bullets are actually being fired from magic circles automatically generating themselves above me. So they¡¯re now able to combine spatial magic with other ones like this? Something like this, I can greatly benefit from, because magic like this will allow me to set up traps that automatically fires projectiles like these. I leave a note in the back of my head to research a little bit more about this topic later, and climb out of net. Right under it, was a small flat stone floor, which was surrounded by a large field of spikes. If I missed the net, my body would be impaled on those spikes right now. At the bottom of the pit, there was a door at the edge of it, and I walk in between the spikes to enter through it. Inside, was a large spiral staircase with a radius about as large as the pitfall. After the first story of stairs, a huge storm of shrapnel was flying around, along with several missiles of magic from all elements. [Fireballs], [Water Bolts], [Earth Spikes], [Wind Arrows], they all flew around wildly. One fourth of the way to the top, I see Thoth climbing the spiral staircase. Her progress was being hindered greatly by the storm. She¡¯s being forced to stop in order to evade with her strange motion magic, so she couldn¡¯t advance very quickly. Using this to my advantage, I begin sprinting up the stairs, blocking the magic flying at me with my own, and grabbing the blades by their flat sides. My speed perception has been greatly changed as I practiced using the [Magnum], so I was able to see the trajectories of these projectiles. Thoth notices my quick ascent, and begins sprinting up herself. Her speed¡¯s greater than mine, but her vitality is not. She¡¯s being forced to take some of the hits from the storm, weakening herself quickly. I, on the other hand, am able to rush through because of my high defensive abilities. I don¡¯t have to worry about the magic because I don¡¯t have to touch them to deflect them, and the metal shards scratch me slightly. I could easily proceed to the top without much trouble, but the wounds I sustained from the free fall earlier really puts a heavy toll on me. I run right behind her when we¡¯re three-fourths of the way up, and her body was full of scratches, burn marks and other wounds from the storm. Yet, she¡¯s still running with everything she can. She was extremely determined to get an actual win over me, to the extent where she¡¯ll break her body to win. I can see the expression on her face, an expression of someone doing all they can to reach their goal. Seeing Thoth currently in a moment like that, and honestly, I¡¯d feel kind of guilty making her experience losing to me again despite giving it her all. Well, I¡¯m still not going to go easy on her because of that. Letting her win intentionally would be an insult to her abilities, so I¡¯ll still give it my all to win. ¡°¡­ah!¡± As I think this, I carelessly let a blade through my defenses and hit my legs, causing me to trip forward. A chain reaction starts after this, because my concentration for my magic defense broke. A [Fireball] flies by right in front of me, incinerating the area I was just about to walk through, a [Wind Arrow] hits me right in the kidney, slamming me against the wall. More metal blades come flying and scratches parts of my body, but nowhere lethal. I quickly start casting magic again to deflect the magic projectiles, and I start to catch the flying metal coming at me whilst laying down on the stairs. Slowly, I¡¯m able to stand back up again, but at this point, Thoth has already reached the top. She¡¯s finally got a proper win against me, and I can only imagine how happy she is. But for now, I need to survive this mayhem and reach the top before I run out of mana, otherwise, I¡¯ll die and my time in here counts for naught. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Hahaha! Eat that! I beat you fair and square in a contest of speed! Woohoo!¡± Thoth celebrates with an extremely cheerful expression, rubbing it in my face that I lost. ¡°¡­lucky win.¡± I mutter to her. ¡°What¡¯s that I hear? A sore loser! Too bad! I won this time, Aria, and all you can do is accept that!¡± Normally, I probably would be glaring at her, but the smile on her face is contagious. I find myself wanting to praise her for her hard work, but I hold myself back. I¡¯ll forgive her bratty behavior for now. We both stand at the end of the course, past the finish line, waiting for any remaining to finish. Only one other person in the wave of runners actually made it to the end. A tall girl with long, straight hair and ears of a cat climbed out the pit, and the announcer states that she¡¯s the last survivor. Part of the beast race, the girl had a very slender body that would be seen in a model magazine. With that, her eyes shined an emerald green, a very beautiful sight. Although she looked very pretty, the strange thing is that she didn¡¯t suffer any wounds at all throughout that entire course. The storms that even Thoth and I couldn¡¯t get through unscathed, she manages to walk out while only looking exhausted, as if she just casually went out for a long jog. Is this girl really a first year student? ¡°Hah, hah, wow you two are fast! I couldn¡¯t keep up at all, you¡¯re both so amazing!¡± She says while panting, laying down on the ground while facing up. ¡°I know right!? I actually beat Aria! Now there¡¯s two events she¡¯s finally lost, so she¡¯s totally not an invincible monster!¡± Thoth brags, sticking out her chest in pride. So she doesn¡¯t notice the fact that this person just made it through the course flawlessly. She¡¯s still celebrating the fact that she¡¯s beaten me. Is it really something that amazing to celebrate about? I mean, I rarely ever lose, so I guess having a win against me is something to be proud about. Even in my previous life, I was undefeated in nearly every aspect of combat and magic. Only the valkyrie was capable of beating me in worldly knowledge such as language, history, city names, languages and more. We would often play word games with each other using these categories, which lasted for hours before a winner is decided. It was a bit of a nostalgic, recalling these memories. ¡°Hello, Aria? Time to get going, the next wave has already started, we¡¯re supposed to leave now!¡± Thoth pulls on my arm, forcing me out of my daydreams of the past. I follow her out the arena, and the girl with wild hair follows us out. They talk to each other, getting along fairly well. It was a bit of a strange scene because Thoth was a very energetic person, while the girl was more pure, and peaceful. Apparently her hobbies are reading and playing many different instruments. Now there was definitely something wrong here. Why does someone like that want to become an adventurer, and why would they participate in a death race like this? Actually, how in the world did she even get through it unscathed!? Doubt enters my mind, believing that there¡¯s something suspicious with her. Most likely, she¡¯s hiding something from us, which involves the reason why she was able to get through the course without a single scratch. As I think about how I should bring up the question of how she¡¯s able to do that, Thoth speaks my thoughts out loud. ¡°So, Sera, if you enjoy reading and music, why did you join this event?¡± So her name was Sera. I didn¡¯t actually listen to her introduction with Thoth, so I didn¡¯t know her name before. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s because my best friend kept bugging me about doing this. She¡¯s all like, ¡®Sera, you¡¯re supposed to be doing dangerous stuff like this, you know!? A boy can¡¯t wimp out when it comes to small things like these!¡¯ It¡¯s quite annoying, having her pester me like that, so I had to accept.¡± I heard a very strange thing just now. ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s why! ¡­wait.¡± Thoth immediately freezes, and turns her head to Sera rigidly. Then, she asks, ¡°Sera, are you a girl, or a boy?¡± ¡°Hm? Of course, I¡¯m a boy! What makes you think I¡¯m a girl?¡± He replies with a confused face. ¡°¡­look in mirror.¡± I whisper quietly, but he didn¡¯t hear me. This girl, I mean, boy, looked prettier than most of the other girls I¡¯ve seen so far. A tall, body of a model with beautiful eyes, and it¡¯s a boy? Here¡¯s Thoth, with my boyish appearance, and he¡¯s actually a girl. Is fate still playing jokes on me? Hey, Fate, you got a problem with me or something? As I have these silly thoughts in my head, Thoth begins over reacting to his reply. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re a boy!? But you look so beautiful! Like some sort of angel from the forest! I wish I had your appearance, you k¨C¡° She didn¡¯t get to finish her sentence. Her face was planted against the wall faster than I could perceive what just happened. The perpetrator of this action was the beautiful, pure looking angel that was walking besides us. His eyes had a dangerous look to it, which sent a chill down my spine. ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t hear you properly. What do I look like?¡± He asks Thoth, who¡¯s actually unable to reply with her face in the wall. ¡°You¡­ look¡­ very¡­ manly¡­¡± Oh wait, she can reply with her face in the wall. I¡¯m actually amazed at this fact. ¡°Oh really? Thank you! See, my father is a really awesome warrior, he¡¯s so manly! I want to be like him some day. Though I can¡¯t help my reading and music habits, which I inherited from my mother. But some day, I¡¯ll become big and strong like him!¡± As if he wasn¡¯t thirsting for blood just earlier, he reverts to his previous personality of a pure, gentle soul. Thoth pulls her face out of the wall and begins talking to her as if nothing just happened. What resilience. She can¡¯t fool me, though, I notice a hint of fear in her eyes as she continues conversing with the boy walking with us. I can¡¯t blame her, though, because I¡¯m a bit scared of angering the boy as well, so I keep my silence and listen as they positively talk about ¡®manly topics.¡¯ We continue this in a training room under the arena, until the next event comes. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°The finale of the tournament, the final event of the day, the event that will turn into a complete storm, the [Untouchable] event is now here, ladies and gentleman!¡± The roar of the crowds fill the stadium, excited for the final event. The arena grounds were a bit strange. There was a large, circle barrier in the center of the arena, nearly filling the entire area. Every participant was standing in the center, all grouped up. There wasn¡¯t a lot of space for movement, even though the barrier was spanning about 50 meters around us. ¡°The rules are nice and simple! Someone will randomly be selected as an [Eliminator], and he has to stand outside the barrier! Using any ranged projectiles they can, the [Eliminators] will try to take out the people standing in the barriers! The people inside will have to dodge these projectiles, or they can deflect it if they want. As long as the projectile does not make direct contact with their bodies, the participants will be totally fine! ¡°Anyone who¡¯s hit by any projectile immediately dies on the spot, and becomes an [Eliminator] themselves! The barrier is only one way, so these projectiles can only enter, but won¡¯t be able to leave the barrier! This way, participants can¡¯t fight back against the [Eliminators]! This will continue on for a solid ten minutes, and the last group standing will become the victors! Be careful, though, the barrier gets smaller for every elimination, and at the end, it¡¯ll reach a minimum radius of 10 meters!¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Easy to understand, it was basically just survive a storm of projectiles, just like the third and fourth course of the death race. Everyone around me begins shifting in anticipation, wonder who shall be the first [Eliminator]. ¡°Now, we¡¯re going to start instantly! How? Well, one of you is going to die, right~ about~ NOW!¡± Suddenly the sound of a bullet is heard, and someone next to me falls. The bell rings, sounding the start of the event. Everyone begins to rush around wildly, trying to avoid being taken down early in the event. This is the problem with crowds in large events like this, the people are all clustered up, and it¡¯s near impossible to evade anything in a tight group. So instead, I put myself in the middle of the largest cluster I can find, using the people around me as a meat shield. At first, I hear screams and smell scorched skin, so I assume the first [Eliminator] is capable of using [Fire Magic]. Soon enough, sounds of explosions, arrows whistling in the air, and heavy sounds of bursting wind fills the arena along with the screams of those who died. Within the first three minutes, the crowd of over one hundred participants are now reduced to approximately 30. The barrier was around 15 to 20 meters at this point, but because the cluster is gone now. I recognize many of the remaining participants, which puts a small thought in the back of my head. How come I¡¯ve only been meeting completely monstrous existences so far? Within this barrier, is Thoth¡¯s entire team, Sera and Pyrion along with several other people I haven¡¯t met. But including the people I actually know, there¡¯s also the Student Council group. I¡¯m acquaintances with only monsters it seems, everyone more powerful than they should be for their generation. An arrow of wind past my chest, and a real arrow nearly hits my neck, but I manage to dodge them by tilting my body strangely. A huge ball of fire comes from behind, and I blow it away with heavy [Wind Magic]. Then, a giant sphere of water is casted at me, and this gives me an idea. Using [Fire Magic], I create a fireball the exact same size as the sphere of water, and have them both collide head on. The fire caused the water to evaporate on the spot, and steam was created to fill the barrier. I use wind magic to contain the steam in the area, not allowing it to escape outside the barrier. I can feel other mages trying to blow away the steam with [Wind Magic], but to no avail. Now, steam filled the battlefield, making it harder for the [Eliminators] to aim at us. Wait, but this made it harder for the participants too, because they can¡¯t see the projectiles? Well, unfortunately for most of them, people like Thoth and I had abilities that can enhance our detections or movements, so this kind of thing won¡¯t hinder us very much. I activate [Enhanced Detection], and duck under a barrage of stone spikes blindly fired into the barrier. My back lies flat against the ground, and I remain in this position because based on the patterns of these blind shots, they¡¯re all randomly aimed at the upper body area in hopes of luckily hitting someone. I hear several screams around me during this moment, the people unable to use magic to enchant their senses won¡¯t be able to survive long in this wall of steam. As I think this, I feel the ground under me shaking slightly. I roll out the way, and a giant spike of earth emerges from where I just was. One of the [Eliminators] has some sort of ability that allows them to see through this fog, so they were able to see my position exactly. How troublesome. Now I¡¯m forced to actually try and dodge these random storms of magic and arrows, not that it¡¯s much of a problem. For now, that is. I hear a familiar sound from the outside of the field, which makes me frown for a bit. I pull out the [White Edge] I have holstered, and deflect several high speed projectiles, before needing to roll to the side to dodge them. The high speed projectiles being fired were bullets. Pyrion seems to have fallen, so now he¡¯s just blasting his submachine gun into the steam. I lose my concentration from this, and the steam starts to escape. The mages notice this, and blows it away immediately before I can contain it again, and now the field was clear. Nine minutes has passed, and the last people standing were Thoth, a shady man from Thoth¡¯s team who I¡¯m suspicious of, Sera and me. ¡°Tch, you¡¯re still standing? Is this going to end up as a tie again?¡± Thoth says after clicking her tongue. She really wants another win against me, huh? ¡°Hey, don¡¯t sound so mean. Let¡¯s just all survive for one more minute, right?¡± That¡¯s right, Sera, you tell her! ¡°This girl is totally invincible, I tell you. My first proper win against her was in the previous event, and¨C woah!¡± Thoth wasn¡¯t able to complete her sentence, having to dive out the path of an explosive arrow. Yes, they were just casually talking like this as the storm continued. They have no sense of crisis, whatsoever, which kind of makes me jealous of them. I want to be able to casually talk while not minding a hundred different things flying at me, but I can¡¯t. Unlike them, I need to focus in order to deflect magic with magic, block bullets and arrows with my dagger and dodge anything I fail to counter. ¡°Okay, then, let¡¯s end this with a boom!¡± Pyrion yells at us from the sidelines, and raises a second submachine in his hand. He was able to dual wield guns!? That¡¯s really cool! Though, it wouldn¡¯t be very useful in close ranged combat, but it¡¯d be amazing to use against groups from a distance. Pyrion starts firing both guns wildly without aiming properly, but it¡¯s not like he needs to. Because the projectiles he fired were all [Inferno Bullets]. ¡°What the heck is this!?¡± I hear Thoth yell out loud, as hundreds and hundreds of small scale explosions are surrounding us. I¡¯m forced to create a mana barrier and use everything I can for defense. I run around the inside area of the barrier, trying to escape the explosions, but there were several holes in the ground made from the destruction, and other projectiles are still flying through. All of this chaos was too much for me, and I eventually fall. I ran out of mana to use for the barrier, and I die instantly on the spot as the bell rings. The end of the event is here, and I lost at the last second. Kind of a depressing thing, losing everything on that final moment. ¡°That¡¯s the finale, everyone! A show of explosions and destruction filled the arena at the end, a suitable end for such a wild event! And we even have a victor from that cluster of explosions and storm of projectiles!¡± The announcer yells out. So one person manage to actually make it through all of that. Smoke covered the entire center of the arena, so we couldn¡¯t exactly see yet. I would say I wonder who would actually make it through that, but I can take a guess already. The only person who can possibly make it through mayhems of destruction unharmed. ¡°The victor of this event, the [Untouchable], is Sera Koravan!¡± The smoke fades away, and the boy of evasion stands this without a scratch, as usual. This guy, what level was he exactly? To have the agility to actually evade all of that, it has to be much higher than 1,000. At least, that¡¯s what I think, because I currently have about 600 yet I can¡¯t avoid them at all. Sera¡¯s probably the fastest amongst the people I¡¯ve met, his speed is far ahead of anyone else¡¯s. I can¡¯t exactly say anything about her strength or magic capabilities, though, because she hasn¡¯t displayed them very well. It seems like Thoth died as well, though, so she wasn¡¯t able to keep up with her evasion as well. I guess having temporary speed boosts doesn¡¯t help when it comes to dodging storms of magic and arrows. Did she know any speed magic other than that, though? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen her use [Wind Magic] at all to enchant herself. Now that I think about it, I don¡¯t exactly know the strengths and combat abilities of the people around me. Like, what was Raina¡¯s battle style exactly? Is Ash a mage or a warrior? What kind of magic does Thoth know other than [Demon Magic] and [Darkness Magic]? I begin to inquire in my mind about these, as the [Untouchable] event for the sixth year students start. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°And everyone, that¡¯s the final event for the [Inter School Fall Tournament]!¡± This time, the principal was the one speaking. ¡°Now you¡¯ve all seen the talents we have and the results of our education. Not to be rude to the students graduating this year, but honestly, I believe that this generation of recruits are absolutely monstrous. You all think so, right?¡± The crowd yells out in agreement, and he continues. ¡°Yep, that¡¯s right! In fact, the top two on the leaderboard are the most monstrous existences we¡¯ve ever seen in humans. Stronger than even the well trained sixth year students, they dominated their events with their only rivals being each other. Allow me to introduce the top three, though, so in third place is the [Red Breaker], Zellaroth Orium!¡± A roar comes from the crowd, as a set of stairs emerge from the ground going up onto the platform. The large figure of Zellaroth is seen slowly walking to the top, before standing next to Rend who was about 20 centimeters shorter. ¡°So then, Zellaroth, what are your thoughts right now?¡± The intimidating figure doesn¡¯t faze the principal at all, who casually starts interviewing him. Zellaroth is given a microphone to answer, and his next words surprised me. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve found out that it seems like my time as the strongest has quickly ended. Although I¡¯m the most powerful out of the graduation students this year, I¡¯ve already been surpassed by two people in their first years of school. It saddens me a bit, but it shines a light on the future of humanity, as these two will be a ray of hope for us to be able to catch up with other races in terms of strength.¡± He was actually much more charismatic as he seemed, Zellaroth. ¡°So, after this year¡¯s over, I shall try my best to scrape whatever accomplishments I can before these two graduate, to put my name in the books for accomplishing something. Although I doubt I¡¯ll be able to clear a [Legend Tier] world, I¡¯ll be able take down a couple of these dungeons before the two little princesses come to take over. That¡¯s all I got to say, so let me end it here, will you?¡± He says with a smile on his face, and the crowd cheers for him. ¡°Then we¡¯ll do that! Thank you for your thoughts, and you can just stand on this platform with me, because I¡¯ll be pulling up the two princesses you just mentioned. So, allow me to announce, in second place, the [Shadow Princess], Thoth Farlite!¡± Thoth¡¯s small figure can be seen running up the stairs, reaching the top at a fairly fast speed. Zellaroth throws the microphone at her, and she catches it in mid air. ¡°Hey there everyone!¡± She yells as she waves towards the crowd. They enthusiastically greet her back, the cheerful smile on her face spreading towards them. ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you a bundle of sunshine and happiness?¡± Rend chuckles to himself, as Thoth nods her head in agreement. ¡°Anyway, you¡¯re in second place, your rival a person who seems like a walking weapon. What are your thoughts about this?¡± He asks her, letting out his own opinions of me. It hurts, you know, being called that? ¡°Rivaling? Hardly. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll actually be able to win against her when she¡¯s serious. That¡¯s all I¡¯m going to say, because it¡¯s a little secret between her and I, you know? Secrets can¡¯t be shared, so I¡¯ll keep my mouth shut, ehehe~!¡± Although she pretty much just stated that I¡¯ve been holding back, I don¡¯t really mind. Not that I need to hold back any more after an exhibition of strength like that. ¡°Is that so? Then there¡¯s the verdict! The strongest one here is a legendary warrior with potential far beyond anyone else can comprehend! Is there anything else you¡¯d like to add?¡± The principal asks her, with curiosity in his eyes. He won¡¯t be getting any more than that, though. ¡°Um, maybe that my team is amazing and awesome? Those guys are true monsters as well, you know? In my opinion, a certain little girl has more potential than I do, but I won¡¯t name her. That¡¯s all I got, so let¡¯s get Aria up here~!¡± She says, obviously impatient to see me come up. ¡°Okay then! Now, for the last, and definitely not the least, but the very best! The [Angel of Annihilation], the walking weapon of destruction, the victor of the entire tournament, Aria Brynhildr!¡± It kind of embarrassed me, being announced like that, but I go up anyway. I walk slowly to the top, and I feel my long hair fluttering behind me. I¡¯m surprised that nothing happened to this hair during that entire time, yet my clothes and body were all damaged throughout these events. The only thing that actually affected my hair was the blood of my victims. My clothing is still tattered from the explosions that just occurred, so I had my navel being shown while the shorts were even shorter than before, awkwardly revealing more of my thigh. At least my gloves were still intact. Surprisingly, the crowd was yelling out in excitement as I ascended the stairway. Well, anyone would cheer for the victor and champion of a tournament like this, they did it in my previous life as well. Afterwards, they¡¯ll most likely start avoiding me out of fear again, so I¡¯ll appreciate this moment of being glorified. ¡°Here she is, the girl at the top of the leaderboard! Although she¡¯s looking a little bit more¡­ revealing than usual, this is definitely the [Angel of Annihilation] who¡¯s apparently unrivaled! Now, Aria, do you have any thoughts on your mind?¡± He says, and Thoth hands the microphone to me from behind. ¡°¡­I¡­win?¡± I can¡¯t think of anything else to say, so I tilt my head, slightly confused about what to say. This was enough to excite the crowds, though, as they begin roaring to my two word announcement. ¡°There¡¯s the champion¡¯s verdict! Certainly true as well, and she has every right to say that! Now, everyone, an applause for the top three warriors of this tournament!¡± Claps, whistles and cheers fill the stadium, and I stand at the top with Zellaroth and Thoth besides me. ¡°¡­little girl, you¡¯re truly amazing, you know? You¡¯ll be capable of great things in the future, so keep up the good work.¡± Zellaroth says as he pats me on the shoulder. As I thought, he was much more gentler than he seemed. ¡°So, the first tournament of our school life, eh, Aria? You had loads of fun, didn¡¯t you?¡± Thoth says to me as she pokes me for some reason. ¡°¡­yeah. Fun.¡± I reply with a slight smile. Her face turns red again, and along with that, the crowd quiets down for some reason. I immediately stop smiling, returning to the regular expression I always have, and the crowd begins cheering again, this time yelling strange things at me. All of them involved the subject of ¡®love,¡¯ though, and that¡¯s all I understood. Thoth turns away while muttering ¡®idiot,¡¯ for some reason. ¡°And that¡¯s the end of the tournament! I hope all of you had a great time! The [Inter School Fall Tournament] has now concluded!¡± Rend officially ends the three day tournament. This was a very interesting tournament, I really enjoyed my time here. I decide in my mind to join in the [Spring Tournaments] as well in the future, and attend the [Fall Tournament] at my final year as well. I wonder if I¡¯ll need to force myself to 5%, but my goal to keep under 10% until I¡¯m an adult. We¡¯ll see how that plays out, so for now, I walk out the arena with Thoth following me from behind, and my parents waiting for me at the entrance. Epilogue: The Story of Aria Epilogue: The Story of Aria Right now, it¡¯s summer vacation. It¡¯s nearly been a whole year since I first started attending school. Throughout the year, I¡¯ve spent my time with Thoth, Raina, and occasionally went out with my parents to different countries within the kingdom. Everywhere I went, though, many people would immediately have their attention on me, and my presence in a vicinity will silence everyone. It looks like my appearance itself is a symbol of fear towards others. After the [Fall Tournament], I continued training my [Gun Magic] with Jiriko, and after half a year of practice, I¡¯ve mastered every [Basic Gun Magic] for [Small Weapons] and [Rifles]. I couldn¡¯t exactly learn how to use [Launchers] and [Machine Guns] because I require a level 6 proficiency in [Gun Magic] in order to do so. Right now, it¡¯s level 5, so I¡¯m nearly able to learn them. Because of that, we decided to just focus on the combat training. I¡¯ve obtained the class, [Gun Paladin]. It¡¯s a class that hasn¡¯t been discovered yet, Jiriko told me, so I don¡¯t know exactly what it did yet. Ever since the tournament, I¡¯m now a known figure throughout most of the kingdom, so people often recognized me when they see me. As per usual, I¡¯m treated the same as I usually am in school, but recently, I¡¯ve noticed a group of people constantly watching me from a distance. Are they some sort of secret group that¡¯s supposed to be keeping watch of me? I notice them trying to secretly take pictures of me, but I don¡¯t really do anything about it. It¡¯s not like having my pictures taken will kill me. Throughout the year, I¡¯ve participated in many school events, and the [Spring Tournament] as well. I was able to compete against the [Student Council], but I was forced to unseal two marks total against Raina, just like Thoth. Obviously, Raina was the strongest, using a strange spear called a [Naginata] as her weapon, which was made for people with greater dexterity and self defense, rather than emphasizing physical strength for combat. She used it mainly for speed, though, whirling it around at high speed. Raina¡¯s proficiency with this weapon rivaled Thoth¡¯s ability with the spear, so they mainly competed against each other to see who would take second place in the tournament. Thoth won, because she had more battle experience and magic that helps influence her abilities. Immaturely, she boasted about it and rubbed it into Raina¡¯s face at the end, but I smacked the back of her head to make her shut up. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s just me, but the relation between these two have gotten worse since the first time they¡¯ve met. I often see them glaring at each other, as if sparks were created between their gazes. Whenever I went out with the both of them in the city, they would often try to bring us to different places, and have conflicting opinions most of the time. I wish that they would just get along like the first time we all went out with each other. I don¡¯t like it when they fight like this. ¡°Hey Aria! Are you awake yet!?¡± Speak of the devil, Thoth just bursted into my room yelling out loud. ¡°¡­good morning, Thoth.¡± I reply. Her random visits are now a common occurrence, happening at least once a week. ¡°Let¡¯s go out! Come on, I brought a lot more people today!¡± Thoth yells, pulling me out of my room by my arm. ¡°¡­who?¡± I wonder how many of the people coming are those that I actually know. ¡°Surprise! They¡¯ll be waiting for us in the city! We¡¯re going to be late, hurry, hurry!¡± She says with a cheerful voice as we reach the front door. ¡°¡­breakfast¡­¡± I whisper. ¡°Geh, who needs that? Come on, let¡¯s go! We¡¯ll get you something on the way there, everyone¡¯s already waiting for us!¡± She forcefully hands me my shoes, before putting on her own. I sigh to myself as I do the same. I don¡¯t know how to refuse pushy people, so I just comply with whatever she tells me to do. After we put on our shoes, she runs out the front door, and I chase after her. Sprinting out of the front gate, she heads toward the city, with me following closely behind. We were both going at a fast speed, rushing past people in a flash. To them, though, it was common to see the both of us running through town like this. Not that they actually know the reason why we¡¯re running through. We¡¯re often rushing through like this whenever we head towards a new dungeon to explore it. We¡¯ve cleared nearly every dungeon within the [Kingdom of Atalin], the most recent being an A-ranked one. A condition was set for every time we visited a new dungeon; to find the [Hidden Boss] before going to the next one. So how are we able to easily do this despite there are hundreds of other adventurers trying to do this? First, we identified the conditions for the [Forest of Fire] and [Kazaric Ravines]. After several weeks of experiments, we¡¯ve found out the conditions for the both of them. For the [Inferno Bear], it required survival within the forest without any fire resistance equipment, and kill at least ten monsters within a time span of thirty minutes. I was able to complete this condition the first time because instead of using fire resistance equipment, I used the [White Zone]. I also fought the entire horde on my own, killing over ten monsters and fulfilling the conditions. Most people wouldn¡¯t want to try exploring this dungeon without fire resistance, so no one¡¯s fulfilled the conditions yet. The summoning of the [Yeti] was very simple, and was just a bad stroke of luck on our end. We had to enter the boss room via the teleportation room I randomly found, and survive the sudden ambush. The most likely reason why this hasn¡¯t been discovered yet is because many would die if they were suddenly put into a situation like that. Anyone capable of surviving such danger is probably clearing [A-Ranked] dungeons instead. After finding the conditions for these two [Hidden Bosses], we tried several different things related to the dungeon in order to fulfill the conditions to find [Hidden Bosses]. Each dungeon has its own unique requirements related to the dungeon. The higher ranked dungeons had insanely difficult requirements, not due to the strength of the monsters, but to the actions required to fulfill them. We were able to discover them though, and now we know the conditions for seven different [Hidden Bosses] other than the [Inferno Bear] and the [Yeti]. The both of us received several different item drops from these bosses, and they all had unique effects. We distributed them based on who would benefit more from the item. Conveniently, any clothing or armor dropped by the [Hidden Bosses] all had growth correction. This was convenient for us because we still had small bodies, most of them wouldn¡¯t fit us otherwise. I still couldn¡¯t use the spellbook from the [Kazaric Ravines], though, because I still haven¡¯t learnt summoning magic yet. The only unfortunate thing is that they always drop the same items, and if we try to take an item we already have, it disperses into magic particles. I guess this is to prevent having multiple copies of the same equipment. I mean, it¡¯d be an easy way to harvest high quality equipment and just sell them at the market. The [System] would never allow something like that to happen. Due to our hunt for [Hidden Bosses], there has been several search requests for the people discovering them. They still don¡¯t know it¡¯s us two doing this, because they don¡¯t even know we¡¯re exploring these dungeons. There¡¯s even people stationed at the dungeons now to immediately search for us whenever we summon a [Hidden Boss]. From large guild clans, to small elite organizations, they¡¯ve all been sprinting around the dungeon trying to search for us after the summon. Of course, we try to complete them without being seen, so no one else will know what the requirements are, but it¡¯s becoming increasingly difficult to do so because of these people hunting for us. Most of the time, I¡¯m forced to release several of my marks and instantly kill the [Hidden Boss] before they arrive. Thoth is often irritated because of this, not being able to finish the battle properly. ¡°There they are!¡± Thoth¡¯s voice pulls me out of my thoughts, signaling that we arrived at our destination. The place we arrive at is a train station, where a large group of people stood. I recognized everyone there, and if there was a third party right now, they¡¯d be witnessing a gathering of the strongest group of children in this generation. The entire [Student Council] stood there, along with Thoth¡¯s friends. Pyrion and Sera was there as well, a total of 15 people total were here. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re late! Late, I tell you, late!¡± Ghost yells at us. ¡°Yeah, come on! Were you two taking your time dressing up or what!?¡± Haki yells after him. ¡°Quiet, the both of you. They¡¯re only two minutes late, there¡¯s no reason for you to be yelling at them.¡± Peria says with a glare. This managed to get them to shut up. The [Student Council] has been very successful this year. Every event the school hosted was extremely successful, and they made several fund raising campaigns that received a lot of support. As promised, I worked as a hidden member, and no one knew about the relation between us. I caught people who didn¡¯t properly follow the school rules, and at one point, I subjugated a group of delinquents under their name. While disguised, of course. ¡°Hey Thoth!¡± One of Thoth¡¯s friend greets Thoth when she sees her. I believe her name was Eve. After the [Spring Tournament], Thoth introduced me to her friends. All of them were very skeptical of me at first, staring at me strangely when they first talked to me. They gave the same treatment I was normally given at school. After a few weeks, though, they were all comfortable with speaking to me now. I was no longer an existence of fear to them now. ¡°Ah, Aria. You¡¯re as beautiful as ever, today.¡± Pyrion compliments upon seeing me. ¡°Hello~ Aria! Hello~ Thoth! It¡¯s nice to see you!¡± Sera waves at us as we join the large group. Thoth sometimes invited Sera during our outings after the tournament, so we talk every now and then. Sera was as polite as ever, and there was no sign of him become more masculine yet. If anything, he¡¯s becoming more beautiful. Pyrion, on the other hand, just suddenly started visiting me out of the blue. Whenever I was with Thoth, she¡¯d always glare at him and try to shoo him away. Not that I mind his presence, though, he¡¯s the only one that showers me with compliments. He¡¯s such a nice friend, treating me with kindness rather than avoiding me. ¡°Hey everyone! Sorry we¡¯re late, we got no excuse at all! Actually, wait, I got one! It¡¯s Aria¡¯s fault for not being prepared!¡± Thoth pins the blame on me instantly. ¡°¡­didn¡¯t tell me.¡± I reply with a frown. ¡°Haha, yeah, I¡¯m joking!¡± She says while sticking her tongue out playfully. ¡°We should probably get going soon, the train will leave.¡± Deome says, looking at the clock. ¡°That¡¯s right, let¡¯s get going. I already got the tickets, I¡¯ll pass them out right now.¡± Ash hands out the tickets randomly to everyone else, and we all enter the station. Not knowing where we were headed exactly, I just followed suit with everyone else and went into the same train as them. This was my first time using a train, so I didn¡¯t know how these worked exactly. ¡°Woo! Yeah! This is my first time riding one of these, I can¡¯t wait to see how fast these goes!¡± Thoth is already occupying one of the seats, staring out the window. ¡°It¡¯s your first time, huh? I¡¯ll tell you now, this thing goes pretty fast.¡± Haki says with a boastful tone in his voice. ¡°What¡¯re you acting so prideful for? Not like you own the train or anything.¡± Minaya¡¯s words cause his shoulders to droop as he leans on the wall with his right hand, head down. Our interactions continued, everyone holding different conversations with other people as we all occupy a seat. That is, everyone except me, who sat at a window seat, looking out the glass screen. The train starts to move slowly, and an announcement was made to stay within our seats. ¡°Here it is, it¡¯s starting! I want to see how fast the magic train can go!¡± Sera says happily, going to one of the windows to look outside. The train was currently moving at a slow rate, about as fast as a normal person can walk. Then, its acceleration spiked, the train surging forward at an insane speed. The scenery right outside the window looked like a blur, I can barely see what was passing by. Even though I had a skill that supposedly lets me perceive anything moving at high speed, this was still too fast for it. During my training with dual wielding guns, dodging bullets was part of the curriculum, and I¡¯ve obtained two skills; [High Speed Perception] and [Heightened Reaction]. They were both level 4, capable of seeing and dodging a [Magnum]. I still couldn¡¯t see the bullet of a [Sniper Rifle] being fired, because it was still too fast. I wasn¡¯t able to see the scenery outside clearly, so that meant the train was moving at a speed faster than a bullet from a [Magnum]. Knowing this, I¡¯m surprised that it wasn¡¯t affecting the passengers at all. If I wasn¡¯t looking outside the window right now, I wouldn¡¯t have known that we were even moving. That¡¯s how unaffected the inside was from the movements of the train. Magic is such a useful thing. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C It took us about ten minutes total to arrive at our destination. Considering that we were moving at such a high speed, that meant we were probably at the edge of the kingdom. After leaving the station, I instantly realized where we were going. ¡°We¡¯re here! Hello, [Munlit City!]¡± Thoth yells out loud. [Munlit City], a seaside town that boasts to have the best seafood in the world. With large fleets of boats headed out to fish in the dangerous oceans, the city gathers most of its income from the sea. It also has the largest beach on the continent, a very famous tourist attraction that attracts people even during the cold seasons. It¡¯s because the city was always warm, no matter what season it was. No snowfall, rarely any rain, often sunny throughout the entire year. I read this all from a book, so I couldn¡¯t be exactly sure about this. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the beach right away!¡± Haki yells, already making a run for it. ¡°Hey, wait up for me!¡± Ghost chases after him, towards the direction of the beach. ¡°Is it a good idea for a skeleton from hell to be swimming in water? Especially since his eye sockets have fire in them?¡± Orima asks Peria. ¡°No idea. Let¡¯s just find out, shall we?¡± She replies with a sadistic smile. ¡°Thoth¡­ let¡¯s go¡­¡± Mint says to Thoth, while pulling on her sleeve. For some reason, I feel a bit strange when I see this. ¡°Ah, yeah, just wait. We need to go change into our swimsuits first, right?¡± Thoth says while patting her head. The feeling inside of me becomes a bit stronger, and I accidentally leak mana for a second, but stop quickly. ¡°¡­hmph.¡± I say as I walk towards the nearest restroom. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Wow, your skin is so smooth and beautiful¡­¡± Eve compliments me when I took off my clothes. ¡°What do you use to get it so smooth like this!?¡± ¡°Eve, my dear princess, it¡¯s all natural.¡± Thoth says with a prideful expression. ¡°Wha¨C!? Seriously!?¡± Shocked by what she heard, Eve just stood there frozen for a bit. ¡°¡­tch.¡± I hear Mint click her tongue behind me, and I feel a sense of pride in myself for some reason. ¡°Oh yeah, Aria, here¡¯s your swimsuit! I prepared it because I knew you wouldn¡¯t bring one.¡± Thoth says while holding a bag out towards me. ¡°¡­you didn¡¯t¨C¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, I know. I didn¡¯t tell you. I bet you don¡¯t have one anyway, so I got you this one! You better wear it, or else, I¡¯ll hate you!¡± She threatens me as she cheerfully pushes the bag into my arms, before running out of the restroom. At this point, it was only Eve and I inside. The others have already finished changing, and are probably waiting for us. I look inside of the bag, and my mind becomes blank. I don¡¯t mind becoming a girl, but this is too much for me... ¡°¡­I hate you Thoth¡­¡± I whisper to myself. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°¡­of the devil, here she comes! Hey Aria!¡± Thoth waves at me as I walk over, with a towel wrapped over my body. The rest of the group secured a fairly large area on the beach for us to use, Eve and I were the last to arrive. The blankets and umbrellas were set, along with an ice box containing drinks in it. Most of the girls were wearing modest swimsuits compared to mine. Mostly one pieces, except for Raina and Eve, both who were wearing skirt bikinis. Sera was wearing a hoodie with some shorts. It didn¡¯t do anything to hinder his beauty, though. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Come on! What¡¯s with the towel!? You can¡¯t show off your sexiness that way, you know!?¡± Thoth yells as me. ¡°¡­I hate you.¡± I reply to her as I sit down on one of the blankets laid out. ¡°Eh~ don¡¯t be like that~ we can¡¯t have such a beautiful figure go to waste!¡± She complains, but doesn¡¯t try to remove my towel. ¡°Aria¡¯s¡­ body¡­ under¡­¡± I can hear Pyrion muttering, and panting for some reason. ¡°You can¡¯t swim if you¡¯re wrapped like that, are you fine with that?¡± Deome asks me. I nod in response, perfectly fine with just watching. ¡°I¡¯ll stay behind too. I don¡¯t like water.¡± Peria states, despite being in a one piece swimsuit. ¡°You mean, you don¡¯t know how to swim, right?¡± Ghost teases. ¡°Just get going, you meatless slave.¡± She replies, literally kicking him away. ¡°Okay then~! Let¡¯s get going guys! We¡¯ll be back~!¡± Eve runs and dives into the water, Thoth and the others following behind. Peria stayed behind, and for some reason, Pyrion did too. ¡°¡­can¡¯t swim?¡± I asked her as she sat down next to me. ¡°I was never taught to. Not that it matters, really. I¡¯m probably never going near the sea again after this day. I can always travel around by land.¡± She replies. ¡°¡­other continents?¡± She has to cross the sea to get there, right? ¡°Have you heard of airplanes? They¡¯re those flying things in the skies you know, I can travel by air instead of water.¡± She explains with a sarcastic tone at first. I forgot those existed. When I first read about a machine that can transport people by air, it was hard for me to believe that it was a real thing. I thought it might¡¯ve been another one of those fairy tale fantasies my parents kept reading to me. Her telling me this confirmed that they do indeed exist. ¡°Do you not know how to swim either, Aria?¡± Pyrion asks me, who was way too close to me. ¡°¡­I do.¡± I say, while slowly moving away to create space between us. ¡°So why won¡¯t you swim, then?¡± He doesn¡¯t close the gap any further, understanding the message my actions are implying. ¡°¡­embarrassing swimsuit.¡± ¡°Ah, Thoth bought it for you?¡± I nod in reply to this. Due to his constant visits, he now knows how to interact with me as well as Thoth. Nice to know that someone other than her can understand me this well. He continues the small talk with me, while Thoth and the others were all playing in the water. The tide comes in, and then suddenly, a random mass of water comes out and drenches me. I didn¡¯t see it coming, so I couldn¡¯t avoid or block it in time. ¡°Sorry Aria! That¡¯s my bad!¡± I hear Ash yelling as I dry myself. Except, the towel was also wet, so that didn¡¯t work very well. Also, the towel was no longer covering my body, therefore, it was now exposed to the others. ¡°Good job Ash! You got the ice queen to show off her body!¡± Haki gives Ash a thumbs up as he says this. ¡°¡­tough competition.¡± Mint mutters, but I don¡¯t know what competition she¡¯s referring to. ¡°Oh~ I knew it would look good on you Aria!¡± Thoth says as soon as she sees me. ¡°¡­beautiful.¡± I hear Raina mutter. Right now, I was wearing a white bikini with padding in the bra. Although I was eight years old, I had a figure of a 13 year old, so something like this was able to fit me properly. When I first saw it, I was reluctant about wearing it, but Thoth¡¯s threat went through my mind for a second. I know it was an empty threat, there¡¯s no way she¡¯d hate for something as silly as not wearing it, but I still gave in to it anyway. ¡°You look so cool in that, Aria! It makes it hard to believe you¡¯re younger than me!¡± Sera praises me, sparkles in his eyes. ¡°¡­an angel has descended¡­¡± Pyrion whispers quietly, but I ignore him. ¡°Baby, if you came back to [Hell] with me, you¡¯d freeze it over with your looks!¡± A strange line from Ghost, so I ignore that as well. ¡°Shut up you stupid skeleton. That was so bad that I¡¯d like to throw you back into [Hell] because of it.¡± Minaya¡¯s harsh words got him to not say anything further than that, which I was grateful for. I didn¡¯t think that it would¡¯ve fit me very well, with my strange light colored hair, but the compliments from the others says it all. Honestly, it felt nice receiving compliments for my appearance. It¡¯s better than people just glaring at me and stating that I looked terrible enough to kill others. ¡°¡­thanks.¡± I reply to them all, with a smile. An awkward moment of silence goes by between us, which spreads to the surrounding people. Everyone was staring at me strangely. This often happens whenever I try to make a full smile, and I often forget about it. It seems that it¡¯s still bad enough to change their minds about my beautiful appearance. ¡°Hahaha! Well, now that Aria doesn¡¯t have a reason not to swim, let¡¯s have her join us!¡± Thoth abruptly breaks the silence, and grabs my hand before pulling me into the water. After that, I joined in with the activities with the rest of the group. We played beach volleyball, with a touch of magic. I say touch, but it¡¯s mostly just slamming it back & forth with extreme strength. Then, we played a strange game suggested by the [Student Council]. Something involving watermelon smashing, where someone is blindfolded and has to hit a watermelon with a wooden stick. The only problem was, we all had very acute senses, so it was very easy to find the watermelon. So we decided to spice up the game a bit by having other people toss the watermelons around as we try to hit it. This made it far more fun, except whenever I was the person hitting it. My senses were too acute, so it was still easy to hit the large fruit. ¡°Are you using echolocation or something? How the heck are you hitting all of these!?¡± Ghost yells at me. ¡°What kind of life-or-death training did you go through? It¡¯s as if you can still see under that blind fold!¡± Haki adds. ¡°I don¡¯t think echolocation would even work in a place right this. And she¡¯s probably trained her other senses in case she has to battle in a dark area. It¡¯s a common thing to do.¡± Deome tries to logically explain my ability, but it was obviously wrong. ¡°How much watermelons did you guys even bring? We¡¯ve already gone through more than ten!¡± What Thoth said was true. Right now, the remains of several watermelons were all spread around us. ¡°Ew, I¡¯m even drenched in the juice. I knew this was a bad idea!¡± Minaya complains. ¡°If you want, we can lick it¨C¡± Haki tried to suggest. ¡°Kill yourself.¡± Every girl here said without hesitation. ¡°¡­die.¡± I add on afterwards. After that, he was on his hands and knees, head down, facing the ground. It was kind of depressing to see, but no one comforted him because he deserved it. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°I want to go to the beach again next time! I had so much fun!¡± Sera said happily. ¡°Right? We should all do something like this again!¡± Thoth replies to Sera, fist pumping in the air. We¡¯ve all just left the train station, finished with our trip to the beach. It¡¯s now evening, the sun setting in the horizon as we all stand at the entrance of the station. ¡°This was enjoyable, I wish we can do something like this again soon.¡± We agreed with Ash¡¯s opinion. ¡°Well, we shall take our leave here. Have a good time tonight, Aria.¡± Deome says, and the rest of the group says their farewells before we all go to our separate directions. Except for Thoth and Raina. ¡°¡­not going home?¡± I ask the both of them. ¡°Nope! We¡¯re going to your house first!¡± Thoth says, before pulling on my hand and making me walk with her. ¡°...surprise waiting there.¡± Raina tells me as we head to my house. Now that I think about it, Deome said something about having a good time tonight, rather than just saying goodbye. ¡°So, how was your time at the beach today?¡± Thoth asks me. ¡°...enjoyable.¡± I tell her. ¡°Enjoyable? Come on, you had loads of fun, didn¡¯t you? It was more than ¡®enjoyable¡¯! Right Raina?¡± ¡°¡­yeah, it was fun. I had fun playing with everyone.¡± She smiles after saying this, a nice sight to see. For the first time since the first outing we had with the three of us, they¡¯re finally getting along well. ¡°That¡¯s right! So you had fun too, right, Aria?¡± ¡°¡­yeah.¡± Her face beams at me as she hears this. ¡°Okay then! Let¡¯s make this the best day ever as soon as we get home! Come on! Let¡¯s go!¡± For some reason, she becomes extremely excited, and starts sprinting ahead. Raina and I chase after her, and I notice an excited expression on Raina¡¯s face as well. This was something I rarely seen so now I was really confused on what was going on. When we finally arrived at my house, the lights were off, and my parents weren¡¯t home. ¡°Here we are! There¡¯s something special waiting for you inside, Aria!¡± Thoth pushes me forward, through the front gate. ¡°We¡¯re right behind you.¡± Raina says something that I found slightly ominous, but she probably meant it with good will. I walk to the front door, and pull out a pair of keys I was given after the [Fall Tournament], my parents allowing me to leave freely after knowing I can definitely defend myself. I found this entire situation strange, though. Normally, my parents would never be both out of the house this late into the evening without telling me. Also, all the lights would never be out. When I put my key into the lock, I find that it¡¯s already unlocked. Did someone break in while my parents were out? Or were they attacked!? Immediately, I open the door and charge in, only to have the lights turned on immediately, and my parents standing at the front door with a two layer vanilla cake in hand. Confetti is fired at me, and balloons filled the hall. ¡°Happy Birthday Aria!¡± Everyone around me yelled. ¡°¡­eh?¡± What¡¯s happening now? ¡°Haha, you forgot, didn¡¯t you? I knew this would happened, so I decided to throw you a surprise party!¡± Thoth said with a triumphant look. ¡°¡­I thought of the beach idea.¡± Raina added. So this was all planned out for me? I¡¯m honestly surprised, because I¡¯ve never had something like this happened to me before. In my previous life, due to my nature, I never had anyone to celebrate it with. After I left to start adventuring, my day of birth had been forgotten. Ever since my reincarnation, my parents always celebrated it every year so far. This time, I had my two closest friends here, with my parents. ¡°...ah¡­ thank you¡­¡± I whisper to them. ¡°Aw, dear, don¡¯t thank us! It¡¯s only natural for us to do this for you, right, you little adorable angel!¡± My mother says and comes to hug me. ¡°Pfft, you¡¯re my friend now! Of course I¡¯ll celebrate your birthday!¡± Thoth says to me. ¡°...same with me.¡± The white haired girl says. ¡°Come on, blow the candles out!¡± My dad urges me. After I do so, the four people around me starts clapping and cheering out. Other than my dad, of course, who¡¯s holding the cake. ¡°I¡¯m going to cut the cake in the kitchen, so all of you go to the dining room, alright?¡± My dad says, leaving with the cake. My mother brings us to the dining room, and inside, it was filled with banners and more balloons for my birthday celebration. This was probably the biggest one they¡¯ve thrown for me so far. ¡°So, how was the beach?¡± My mother asks. ¡°You should¡¯ve seen Aria! She was so hot in the swimsuit I gave her!¡± Thoth immediately says to her. ¡°¡­I got pictures.¡± Raina says something scary. ¡°When?¡± I immediately ask. I didn¡¯t see a camera on her at all. ¡°Secret~¡± She replies while holding a finger to her mouth. We talk about our trip to the beach, until my dad arrived with the cake. It was cut evenly into 12 pieces, four which are handed out to us. Thoth and Raina left after that, and I was sent to bed due to how late it was. My parents came into my room though, just as I was about to sleep, and sat on my bedside. ¡°Hey there, little princess.¡± My dad says to me. ¡°You know, it¡¯s been nearly three years since you were blessed. After that, it¡¯s been miracles after miracles. It makes us overjoyed as your parents that you¡¯re growing up so well, and so strong. So I want to ask you now, what do you want to do when you grow up?¡± He says with a serious look on his face. ¡°No matter what you pick, we¡¯ll go along with it dear.¡± My mother was in her rare, calm mood today. It shows how much they¡¯ve been thinking about this. ¡°¡­adventurer.¡± It was pretty obvious that I was going to choose this, and it looks like they were expecting it as well. ¡°¡­thought so. Then in that case, we¡¯ll help out!¡± My mother suddenly says out loud, all signs of the calm mood gone. ¡°¡­huh?¡± What was she going to do exactly? ¡°We¡¯ve told you before, right? We were both former adventurers! That means, we can help you with the education you receive from school, and you¡¯ll become the best human adventurer ever existed!¡± She explains with an excited look in her eyes. ¡°Basically, we¡¯ll support in your magic and gun training. From what we¡¯ve seen, you¡¯re interested in both subjects, right? Honestly, I truly believe you¡¯re going to be stronger than anyone else out there. But it¡¯s up to you to choose what do you want to do with that power.¡± He rubs my head, and I sit there in silence, listening. ¡°Well then! That¡¯s how it will be! We¡¯re going to help with your training, so you¡¯re going to accept it as our daughter!¡± Showing a peace sign, she smiles at me happily. ¡°¡­thanks.¡± I say to them. ¡°What¡¯re you thanking us for? It¡¯s only natural that we¡¯ll do anything we can to help our cute little angel!¡± My mother leaps onto me and begins cuddling me. ¡°You know, now that I think about it, it¡¯s been a long time since we¡¯ve read you a story.¡± My dad says. ¡°Ah that¡¯s right! Then, tonight, we¡¯re going to read you a bedtime story Aria! What would you like?¡± ¡°¡­Alice in Wonderland.¡± I say to them. It was my favorite fairy tale from this era. In particular, I was interested in the ¡®Mad Hatter.¡¯ ¡°The usual, huh? I expected this, so I already bought the book with me. Let¡¯s begin, shall we?¡± My father nudges closer on my bedside, while my mother laid next to me while hugging me. ¡°Once upon a time¡­¡± My father begins, and the story of Alice was told. That night, I slept peacefully. Currently, I¡¯m in my early years of my new life, and it has its ups and downs. For now, I¡¯ll be training myself for my future, to roam around and find something interesting to do. With all these events happening on the way, it lead me to discover things I¡¯ve never had before. In this life, I have a family that loves me unconditionally. In this life, I actually have friends I can be close to. In this life, I have a brighter future than ever. With this, I¡¯ll step forward feverishly into what fate has to offer to me. Whether it¡¯s allies that have strange quirks to them, or dangerous situations that can possibly kill the people I¡¯m close to, I¡¯ll forcefully turn it to my benefit. Right now, I¡¯m just here to live my new life the way I want to. Over 2,000 years ago, the story of the hero, Thoth, ended. Now, the story of Aria, will begin. Interlude: End of Volume 1 Interlude: End of Volume 1 Many of you are confused, so I¡¯m going to just say it flat out now: I did not end, axe, drop the story or anything. I just decided to end the first volume here, because I¡¯m planning to switch arcs and have a time skip. Why? Well, because I feel like it. Anyway, now that I cleared that up, I just want to say a thank you to everyone for reading this, it¡¯s an enjoyable hobby I¡¯ve been developing recently. It makes me glad that several hundreds of you enjoy reading the story that is literally being developed as it goes. Honestly, prior to uploading this, I had absolutely no experience in story writing. It was randomly on a whim, and it turned out like this. It doesn¡¯t have a very deep plot, no complex, calculated stats for the characters, no proper listing of information and such, no illustrations, just several walls of text. It may not be the best story on the site, but it¡¯s something that I enjoy doing, so I probably won¡¯t stop. Obviously, there can be improvements made, and I feel that I am getting a little better after every chapter post. I mean, judging from the first 10 chapters to the later ones, I think they¡¯ve gotten better, right? This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Speaking of which, I am planning to edit some of those. Nothing major that changes the entire plot of the story, more like what I did to chapter 10; small changes to it that still retains the same ending so that it doesn¡¯t affect future chapters very much. I won¡¯t do it now, but some random amount of time in the future, when I have a holiday of some sort. So yeah, I can¡¯t think of anything else to type at all. Just a little thank you in the form of text, and maybe my sincere feelings of gratitude if you have super powers that can feel them. Now, I¡¯ll be going on to work on volume 2 of this story. I¡¯ll be naming the chapters as: ¡°V2 Chapter 1: The¡­¡± because I feel it¡¯s a bit strange to start at chapter 30/31 after typing an ¡°Epilogue¡± chapter. Anyway, as I always say in my replies: Thank you for reading! V2 Prologue: The Future V2 Prologue: The Future ¡°Please, please, have mercy on us!¡± A man pleaded to the figure in front of him. The figure he pleaded to was a creature not of that world. It was similar to a bird, except with a more human-like figure. It still retained the beak, wings and feathers, but it had limbs and hair on it¡¯s head. Strangely, they also spoke in the common human language; English. These bird men are [Monsters] from a [Dungeon World], which is currently attempting to invade Sykerion. Currently, a large group of these bird-men have taken over a small town called [Dimford]. They lost one fourth of their numbers, but succeeded in the end, gathering all the citizens in the town center. Now, one by one, they were being executed by having their throats torn out with the beaks of these creatures. It was a ritual held by these creatures whenever they are successful in an invasion. They sent over half of their forces to invade another town, leaving behind a small group to complete this ritual of theirs. Though, this group alone numbered over 30,000. Only about 5,000 were inside the town to search for survivors and gather them all, while the rest were outside to look out for reinforcements. After gathering every survivor they could find, their ritual began. The cries of the mans were ignored, as the beak of the creature in front of him bites into his neck, ripping out his throat. He dies on the spot, and several of the other citizens begin screaming out in fear. There was nothing they could do, because everyone with a combat-related class had already died earlier trying to repel them. A warning message has already been sent out, but the help would not arrive in time. It seemed hopeless to them, but suddenly, a huge gust of wind runs through the town. Normally, something like this would be ignored, but a whistle was heard through the air, and something hit the bird-man that just executed the man. No one saw what exactly happened, but a thin, red line ran through his upper body, before it topples over. His body was completely split in half. Then, another gust of wind runs through, and several hundred more whistling sounds in the air are heard. The red lines run through the rest of the birds, slicing them apart like butter. There was nothing they could do when there was a storm of invisible attacks cutting them apart. ¡°What just happened!?¡± One of the humans shout out in surprise. ¡°Where did that come from!?¡± Another asked. ¡°Did help arrive!?¡± Hope ran through the crowd. None of them could see the girl standing on top of the church at the other side of town, the source of the invisible attacks. In her hands, were several hundred ultra thin wires that were glowing yellow. A new adventurer with a petite physique, brown hair, and hazel eyes, she graduated her school as the second best, granting her an [A-Ranked] status on her [Adventurer¡¯s Card]. She had spent a huge portion of her life training her unique style of combat, earning herself a title, prestige, and power. ¡°Wow, how pretty~ It¡¯s always nice to see your magic in action.¡± A voice speaks out to the girl that just killed a group of 5,000 enemies in a short span of time. ¡°¡­it makes me tired though¡­¡± She replies to the voice. ¡°That¡¯s fine. It probably took all your mana to do that, so get some rest, will you? We¡¯ll handle the rest.¡± The speaker walks up to her from behind, standing next to her. A tall, tomboyish girl stood there, who had short black hair, and brown eyes. She wore heavy platemail armor, but was the fastest amongst her peers even with the armor on. As the best adventurer of the school she attended, she¡¯s also a [A-Ranked] adventurer. ¡°¡­what about the rest?¡± The girl asked. ¡°Well, I took care of the east side on my own. The princess and her servant should be taking care of the north and south side. And the west side should be getting explosions in the next minute.¡± As soon as she says that, several flashes of fire can be seen on the west side. ¡°Yeah, so it doesn¡¯t seem like there¡¯s any more here, so we should probably get moving to search for the next wave.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ but didn¡¯t they send a group to [Miridia]?¡± Worry appears in her voice. She wanted to try and reduce the casualties as much as possible. ¡°Haha, yeah, don¡¯t worry about that! I believe that a certain someone said that she¡¯ll also going to [Miridia] today. She¡¯ll most likely stop by the [Dungeon Field] and train there before proceeding to the town. Those bird guys have the worst stroke of luck, heading to the same place she is on the exact same day.¡± A smile appears on the tomboy¡¯s face, imagining what was going to happen when the two forces make contact. ¡°Hey~ we¡¯re done over here!¡± A voice calls out from behind. ¡°Is that so? Then we¡¯ll get going to the next town.¡± The tomboy replies. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. I want to finish this as fast as possible.¡± She says to the short girl, who nods and follows the tomboy as she begins dashing to their next destination at high speed. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C In between the towns of [Miridia] and [Dimford], was a mountain range known as the [Philerin Mountains]. It had a reputation of having extremely harsh winds, no creature or machine can fly through. It was a known [Dungeon Field] called the [Philerin Mountain Pass], which was labelled as an [S-Ranked] [Dungeon Field]. It was a place that was near impossible to traverse for citizens and merchants. Often, [S-Ranked] adventurers are hired as escorts to enter through. The bird men were confident in their abilities though, because they were supposed to be [Immortal Tier] monsters. Albeit, only [D-Rank], they were still superior to [S-Ranked] monsters in the [Mortal Tier]. They proceed to enter through the passing with their entire army. They were also no exception when it came to traveling through the skies of the [Philerin Mountains], so they were forced to proceed by foot. Surprisingly, when they entered through the entrance, they found many figures sprawled all over the area in the narrow pass. They were the monsters that were supposed to be inhabiting the area, turned into a field of corpses. The cause of death varied completely, which can be seen by the different wounds each of them had. Some had burn marks, while others were cleaved into pieces. They weren¡¯t able to see the person who did this, but the scene caused them to become wary of their surroundings as they enter the pass. ¡°General, I don¡¯t think this is a good idea. We should head to [Munlit City] instead.¡± One of the soldiers speak out. The group was having their doubts, because these monsters had strength equivalent to four of their footmen, yet they all became a part of a massacre that took place here. ¡°What¡¯s there to be afraid of? Whatever caused this scene is no match for our soldiers! They most likely didn¡¯t get out of this unscathed, so there¡¯s nothing to fear! Who knows, they may have left after this hunt, and even if they didn¡¯t, we can easily defeat them while they¡¯re weakened! We shall proceed forward, and continue our conquest!¡± The leader¡¯s speech brought the morale of the troops back up, and they all cheered as he lead them into the pass. This is a decision he regretted when he reached the center of the pass. They didn¡¯t encounter any monsters through the passing, but upon traversing halfway through it, a heavy aura filled the area. The smell of death was amplified, the anxious feelings in their hearts grew, and area around them seemed to redden slightly. Everything around them seems to have gone silent, none of the bird men making even the slightest movement. Even the wind didn¡¯t make any sound, the entire area in complete silence. ¡°¡­new monsters?¡± A beautiful, pure voice breaks the silence, resounding through the mountain pass. The voice came from above, and the gazes of every soldier turn to the source. On a small ledge up about 50 meters up the mountain, sat a girl looking down at them, legs swinging in the air. She stands up, and looks down at the large group from the ledge. She stood as tall as the average young male, around 170 centimeters, but had a figure rivaling a top idol. Her hair was let out, running past her waist near the knees. It had strange coloring; from the roots, her hair was light blue, and as it ran down her back, it lightened up to a silver. As if she was going to hang out with a bunch of friends, she had casual clothing on. She wore a denim jacket, with a white tank top underneath it, and had denim shorts that reveals a huge portion of her thighs. On her back was a long rectangular box, and two swords were sheathed on each side of her waist. The bird men didn¡¯t know this, but she actually had many, many more weapons stored away in a [Spatial Pocket]. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°¡­too many monsters.¡± The girl mutters to herself, as she leaps off the ledge. She lands about 10 meters in front of the group, blocking the way to their destination. Upon hitting the ground, a small fissure was made due to the combined weight of the weapons she was carrying at the moment. This scene, along with the aura and appearance of someone ready for all out war, fear was running through the entire group. ¡°What are you all doing cowards!? It¡¯s only a girl standing in front of us right now!¡± The leader yells. ¡°We have an entire army of soldiers here, and there¡¯s only one person that stands in our way! There¡¯s no reason to be shaking in your boots, just from the mere sight of her! Get your act straight and stand in formation properly!¡± Some of the army¡¯s morale returns from this speech, but the unease was still in their hearts. ¡°¡­bird soldiers?¡± The girl speaks her thoughts out loud, confused. There were several non-human creatures in front of her right now, all wearing equipment for war. She wasn¡¯t aware of the current situation, so she didn¡¯t realize what was happening right now. The announcement didn¡¯t reach her because she was practicing [Spatial Magic] by traversing between self-made dimensions. ¡°Do you really dare stand in the way of the [Valkins]? Every soldier here is at least a [D-Ranked] [Immortal Tier] monster, so you have no chance of survival!¡± The bird general yells to the girl. ¡°¡­special dungeon event.¡± She mutters. That¡¯s the conclusion she reached for herself, so she ignored the words of the general, and grips the sword on her left waist by the handle. Both swords had it¡¯s own properties, and the one she uses depends on the situation she¡¯s in. In this case, massive group combat, she chose her favorite sword; the [Zephyr Rage]. It was a [Katana], a weapon more commonly seen in the eastern parts of the world. ¡°Hah, foolish child¡­ Reil, go kill her.¡± Commanding one of his soldiers forward, he turns around and faces the rest of the army. ¡°See!? Like I said, there isn¡¯t anything to fear! Just a lone g¨C¡± A loud cry suddenly comes from behind him, and he turns around quickly to see the bird man he just sent, sprawled on the floor. The girl stood there normally, as if she didn¡¯t move at all, hand still on the hilt of her sword. The soldier¡¯s upper body was separated from his lower one, and a long line of blood trailing on the walls. It was as if he was cleaved in half with an oversized sharp object, but all the general could see was the girl standing there with her swords sheathed. The girl took a step forward. The aura of death was even stronger, now that they¡¯ve just witnessed the death of one of their own men in front of them. ¡°A-a-attack!¡± The leader yelled, and the soldiers immediately followed that command. Their opponent continued walking calmly, and as soon as the vanguard was about to hit her, she unsheathed her [Katana]. Swinging horizontally at them at a speed equal to a bullet, she cleaves through the heavy armor of the frontline soldiers, killing several of them at once with the thin, long weapon. A shockwave came from the slash, blowing away the rest of the vanguard back as if a large explosion went off right in front of them. As the girl follows her swing all the way with her left arm, her right hand raises up parallel to her shoulder, an object in it that wasn¡¯t seen on her body before. A weapon commonly seen amongst races with modernized technology, a [Magic Gun]. More specifically, a [Magnum], and it was the strongest of its kind; the [HNTR]. She fires the gun, and a huge explosion of extreme flames occurs in the middle of the ranks. The explosion completely annihilated anyone caught in it, and the heat from the explosion greatly affected those outside of its range. Their armor melted and stuck to their skin, while others had their leather armor set on fire, burning to death. Already, about 25% of their army fell in an instant.The formation was broken, but the soldiers haven¡¯t completely lost their minds yet, still remaining somewhat calm. The leader was still alive as well, but deep feelings of regret filled his heart. He should¡¯ve followed the suggestion of his subordinate, but was overconfident by the power of their numbers, leading them into this situation. The girl lets go of the gun in hand, and it fades into the air, disappearing completely. The soldiers began charging at her again, while archers and mages prepared to fire from the back. Their target also went on the offensive, running towards the remaining army head on. The first spearman to reach her leaped towards her, leaving himself completely open to try to at least scratch her. It was a bad choice on his end, because the girl easily dodges his suicide attack, and cuts right through his waist. A swordsman rushes towards her with his shield out, trying to bash her with it, but with a front kick, the girl sends him rolling across the ground with the force of it. Before he could get up, she finished him off by summoning an [Earth Spike] from the ground, piercing through his head. Several more frontline soldiers surround her, but suddenly, she blurred on the spot for a whole second, before standing still again. Slowly, one by one, the soldiers that surrounded her fell apart into pieces. ¡°Archers, mages, fire! Soldiers, stand back!¡± The leader yells out, and immediately a huge volley of arrows and spells were fired at her. ¡°¡­go, Crystal.¡± Raising her sword hand, a small tattoo was glowing on it, as the tatoo fades away, a bright line shone in front of her, as magic particles gathered to create a large, long figure. When the light faded, a huge snake of ice was in front of her, and it immediately uses its body to absorb the incoming volley. The arrows embed themselves into its body, while the magic is simply absorbed. The snake hisses at the soldiers, its massive size extremely intimidating to the army. Their morale lowers even further, and many begin to start running away. The snake chases the fleeing bird men, their bodies visible within the snake of ice as it eats them. At the sight of this, the leader began running for his life as well. In response to this, the girl sheathes her [Katana], and removes the large, rectangular box on her back. Placing it on the ground, she opens the large box, revealing parts of a weapon that she recently fell in love with. A long ranged [Magic Gun] that is far more powerful than any other [Physical Guns] when it comes to single shot damage, the [Sniper Rifle]. ¡°...live target practice.¡± She says to herself with a smile. Assembling the parts together, she completely puts together the weapon that reaps lives from far away. The girl climbs the mountain after putting it together, returning to the ledge she originally sat on. Upon reaching it, she gets on her knees, and aim the weapon down the pass, looking through the scope. She takes a deep breath, then holds it, keeping herself as still as possible. Searching through the crowd of monsters, she positioned the crosshair on the head of a running soldier, before pulling the trigger. The sound of the bullet being fired from the [Magic Gun] was very similar to that of thunder, and the projectile hit its target even before the sound went off. Not only did it burst apart the head, it also exploded on the spot due to a [Projectile Enchantment] the girl applied to the bullet before firing. A wall of inferno blocks the entrance to the pass, not allowing anything to enter or exit the [Dungeon Field]. The soldiers could no longer escape, as they become prey to a weapon they had no way of countering. The girl continues to fire on the army, while the snake bursts through at high speeds, eating up several soldiers at once. Their numbers quickly dwindled, before it was reduced to a single bird man left alive, trembling in place. The girl jumped down from the ledge again, and slowly walked to him. The snake slithers to the girl¡¯s side, and fades into magic particles that turns back into the tattoo on her left hand. ¡°W-w-who the hell are you exactly!?¡± The general stutters out, slowing walking backwards, away from her. The girl raised the gun with only her right hand, and pointed it at his head. ¡°¡­Aria.¡± Was the final word he heard, before his vision became black. V2 Chapter 1: The Graduation Chapter 1: The Graduation Drip. Drip. Drip. A sound that I¡¯ve been listening to repetitively for the last ten minutes. Water slowly dripping from the top of the dark cavern I¡¯m in, falling into the puddles below, formed by several months of droplets. The path is lit up by small crystals, glowing a dim, green light. I step through one of the puddles, navigating through the narrow area in front of me. As I do so, something emerges from the shadow and lunges at me, while screeching. Reacting in an instant, I raise my feet and slam the sole of it onto the monster¡¯s face, before forcing it onto the ground with a stomp. After that, I summon the [HNTR] out of my [Spatial Armoury] and fire it onto the monster¡¯s head. Instantly, the monster became lifeless, dying in less than five seconds since its spontaneous appearance. Right after, I drop the [Magnum] and it fades into magic particles before it hits the ground, returning to the [Spatial Pocket]. This has happened several more times earlier, sometimes in groups, sometimes individually, but I was able to kill them all within seconds of their appearance. Most of them were insect-like monsters, such as giant beetles, ants and there was even an oversized centipede monster. I haven¡¯t been in here for that long, but I¡¯ve killed several of these things already. I¡¯ve only released two marks of my curse which is 2 % of my true power, yet, they seemed far too slow and weak. I continue walking forward, before entering a large, open area within the dark cave. This seems to be the final room. In the center of the room, was a block of stone with a sword stuck inside of it. Proceeding to stand in front of the stone block, I grab at the hilt of the sword, before pulling it out of the block with ease. This is the object I was requested to obtain. As soon as the sword was pulled out, the entire cavern suddenly shook wildly. When it stops, a huge worm-like creature suddenly bursts through one of the walls, coming straight at me. The worm¡¯s body was large enough to swallow me whole, so the worm¡¯s mouth was wide open as it charged right at me. I quickly step to the side, narrowly dodging its path as it dives into the opposite wall. I raise the sword I just pulled out, which was a broadsword with several engravings on it. Though it had no power whatsoever, because it was only a replica of an ancient weapon. It was still able to function as a normal sword, though. I wait until the worm monster bursts through one of the walls again, and step to the side again. This time, I swung the sword right into its side as it goes by me at high speed. This wasn¡¯t enough to kill it though, because I could still feel a slight vibration in the caves when I activate [Enhanced Detection]. The vibration becomes faster in the area under me, its trajectory fairly obvious to me. Responding to this attempted surprise attack, I open my hand out in front of me and summon a small object in my hand. It had a pin attached on one end, which I pull and drop on the ground before rolling to the side. The worm emerges from the area I was just standing on, eating the object I just dropped, before going through the ceiling. A second after, I hear a loud explosion, and the cavern shakes wildly again. I slowly leave the open area through the way I entered, and navigate through the narrow paths. Even more monsters began ambushing me at this point, but I slay them with the sword upon sight easily. Soon enough, I emerge out of the dark caves, where hundreds of people stood. ¡°Aria Brynhildr, congratulations, for completing [Krystalis Cave]! You have passed the finals with the maximum points possible, and have set a new record for exploring the cave in 17 minutes!¡± ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C June 16th, year 2486. Also known as the graduation day of the seniors at Krystalis Academy. Just a couple of days ago, the final exams took place over the course of a week. The final day was an expedition test, where students are to complete the hardest dungeon they believe they can do. Most of my classmates took the [B-Ranked] dungeon, which was expected for students studying at one of the top schools in the kingdom. A few of them even took the [A-Ranked] dungeon, which was the limit for them. I was the only one in my year level that tried the [S-Ranked], something that everyone in the school expected. Unfortunately, you aren¡¯t able to obtain levels from these dungeons, because they were man-made. It wasn¡¯t part of the [System], so students won¡¯t obtain anything from completing the dungeon besides experience from exploring it. It would¡¯ve been a good learning experience, though, if I haven¡¯t already experienced it myself before. Currently, graduation certificates are being given out to the students along with their [Adventurer¡¯s Card]. Along with that, every student is getting an [Appraisal] check to record their stats into the books. I keep two marks unsealed, because that¡¯s the same amount of strength I¡¯ve been using for everything combat related. That is, everything but fighting Thoth and Raina. The place this graduation ceremony is taking place in was the arena. All of the sixth year students were lined up in the battlegrounds of the arena, as the principal stood atop a stone platform. It was quite exciting, today being the day I¡¯ll finally become an official adventurer, despite already exploring every dungeon within the [Kingdom of Atalin]. Thoth and I have discovered every [Hidden Boss] from the dungeons we¡¯ve explored. These past five years have been eventful. Whether it came to tournaments, outings with the others, or exploring dungeons, there¡¯s a story in each and every one of these events. I¡¯ve also been taught many things I didn¡¯t expect to learn in the school. My appearance has changed quite a lot as well. I looked a couple of years older than my actual age. My height is now around 160 centimeters, with my hair now growing down near to my knees, and I¡¯ve grown in a place I really hoped I wouldn¡¯t inherit from my mother. When I reached my second year of school, I started studying more seriously in [Advanced Magic Class]. A totally new concept of magic, that didn¡¯t exist at all in my previous life, called [Compound Magic]. Back then, magic was only used in single elements, combining them was an idea that no one ever thought of. People were aware of facts like melting rocks made magma, but the spells taught in class involved more advanced combinations. Along with learning [Compound Magic], I was able to improve my [Spatial Magic] even further. My proficiency was maxed out with it, but I discovered that having max proficiency doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m capable of completely utilising the magic. It seems like I also needed to understand the physics and theories behind the magic, before being able to utilise it properly. Now I was able to store several more objects into my [Spatial Pocket], but that was pretty much the only improvement I was able to make. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. It was an extremely useful upgrade to my magic, though. Now I¡¯m able to have my own little armoury with me at all times. Over 30 different weapons, several different sets of armor and other small devices I¡¯ve stashed in the [Spatial Pocket]. One example is the [Magic Grenade] I used earlier to slay the ¡®boss¡¯ of the [Krystalis Cave]. There were other small things similar to it in the [Spatial Pocket] such as [Flashbang] and [Lightning Grenade]. Obviously, they were all stolen, but I haven¡¯t been caught at all. There¡¯s no way for them to figure out that I knew such a spell, after all. In regards to [Magic Guns], I¡¯ve learnt how to use every weapon type related to it. At the end of my second year, I was able to use the [Basic Projectile Magic] for every [Magic Gun] and [Ethereal Gun]. From my third year onward, I was taught by my mother, a former [Gun Knight] who was a famous adventurer back then. I was able to learn more advanced [Gun Magic], and I¡¯m now able to dual wield a [Magic Gun] with any other weapon as if it was natural. ¡°¡­and as the only person who¡¯s being given an [S-Ranked] status upon graduation, also known as the [Angel of Annihilation], Aria Brynhildr!¡± My name is called by the principal, as I leave the line of students I¡¯m in. Walking slowly up onto the stone stage, the crowd yells and cheers for me as I ascend the stairs. During the [Spring Tournament] last year, Thoth explained to me that these people never disliked or hated me, but in fact, they were all in awe of me and respected me. After having that explained to me, I realized that what she said was in fact true, and that I was misunderstanding them previously. Though I still don¡¯t know why the other students avoid me whenever I¡¯m walking through the hallways in school. ¡°Aria Brynhildr, as the only student in [Krystalis Academy¡¯s] history who¡¯s ever gotten a perfect score in the final exam, you have earned an [S-Ranked] status upon graduation! With an unlimited amount of potential for the future, you are the pride and joy of our school. We wish you the very best, and that you will be successful during your time as an adventurer.¡± I¡¯m handed a certificate that was made of real gold, and a bronze card which is my official [Adventurer¡¯s Card]. Every teachers, students and parents watching begins applauding loudly. I wave at them as I walk back down the stairs, rejoining the line of students. The ceremony continues, the rest of the graduating students being called up to the stone stage. After being given their certificates and [Adventurer Card], the principal begins making a final speech. Unfortunately, it looked like something was going to interrupt it. In the sky, a shadow was circling around above the arena before it dives straight down at us. Several people notice it, pointing at it and yelling in surprise, before they begin starting to evacuate the arena. They were too slow, though, and the figure smashes right on top of the arena, grabbing at the edges of the building. It spreads its giant, red, scaly wings before roaring loudly. A creature that shouldn¡¯t exist in this world, a huge monster larger than the arena building itself. Something that inhabits the mythical [Dungeon World], [Epifiny]. The weakest of its kind, but still a [Legend Tier] beast. ¡°It¡¯s a [Red Dragon]!¡± A sudden cry from one of my classmates begins as the chaos inside the arena befells. Non-combatants try to escape as soon as possible, but several brave warriors steps forward and faces the dragon. Every teacher, some parents from the crowds, even some of my fellow classmates go up to challenge the beast. ¡­ What about me? Obviously I¡¯m already outside the arena, walking away. I just graduated, I have no obligation to help the school now. It¡¯s their problem, not mine. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Ah, welcome home Aria!¡± My father greets me in the hallway when I enter through the door. ¡°...mom home yet?¡± I ask as I take off my shoes at the entrance. ¡°Sorry, no¡­¡± He sadly replies. The usual cheerful attitude of the house wasn¡¯t present at the moment. She was currently out on an emergency quest issued by the kingdom. It¡¯s the second week since she had left, and it was quiet without her. If she was here, there¡¯d probably be some sort of celebration for this with balloons all over the house and a cake as well. ¡°I couldn¡¯t make it to your graduation as well, I¡¯m sorry about that too. The kingdom requires me to finish this research assignment as soon as possible.¡± He unlocks the door to the basement, where his study was located. ¡°Research about?¡± I ask him quickly, curious about the subject. ¡°[Summoning Magic]. Apparently, he wants to summon a person from another dimension. A new [Hero] of some sort, though I see no reason to do so.¡± He explains to me. ¡°¡­confidential?¡± Normally information like this isn¡¯t supposed to be known to civilians. ¡°It is, but you¡¯re not someone who would spread it easily, so it¡¯s fine. I need to get back to work, so we¡¯ll talk later, okay?¡± He descends the stairs quickly, shutting the door behind him. I sigh to myself and head upstairs to my room, feeling a bit saddened. Having my parents too busy to celebrate an important occasion with me is a lonely thing. I quickly change my thoughts to something else though, trying to distract myself from this fact. It wouldn¡¯t be any good to remain depressed. I think about what my plans should be for tomorrow, when my cell phone started ringing in my bag. I quickly search my bag for it, and answer it as I pull it out. ¡°Hey-hey Aria! You just graduated today, didn¡¯t you!?¡± Thoth¡¯s voice appears through the phone before I could even greet her. ¡°¡­yes.¡± I reply quietly to her. ¡°Then tomorrow, let¡¯s go register ourselves into the [Adventurer¡¯s Guild]! I¡¯ll come to your house at 10:00, so we¡¯ll go together! See ya!¡± Cheerfully hanging up on me, the phone went silent. Although rare, this is usually how most of our calls went. It was because I didn¡¯t talk much, so we usually did most of our interactions through text or in person. I don¡¯t know why she called me this time, but she did remind me of a very important thing I nearly forgot. This sets my plans for tomorrow, and I''m able to forget my loneliness for a bit. V2 Chapter 2: The Adventurers Guild Chapter 2: The Adventurer¡¯s Guild ¡°You wanna play rough? Okay. Say hello to my little friend!¡± A man says, before the rapid sound of gunfire is heard. Currently, an old television film is being aired on the television, and I listen to it while waiting for Thoth. Along with listening the television, I¡¯m sketching in a drawing book I bought a few months ago, following a cartoon style developed in the east. I believed it was known as ¡®anime,¡¯ but I¡¯m not so sure. I liked the appearance, so I decided to try and copy it. I was waiting for Thoth right now, who was already an hour late. My father locked himself in his study again, researching the [Summoning Magic] that the king requested. Mother hasn¡¯t returned yet, so I was all alone in this living room, with nothing much to do besides drawing. Now that I think of it, recently, I¡¯ve been spending more time with others rather than being alone. It was a nice change to have from my previous life. The doorbell rings as I finish the clothing on the character I¡¯m drawing, and I put the book down before heading to the door. I put on my shoes and make sure I have the keys in my pockets before grabbing the door handle. Upon opening the door, I see the cheerful girl I was waiting for. She wore tomboyish clothing similar to mine, and stood about ten centimeters shorter than me. Her hair was short and spiky, which was the exact same style I had in my previous life. At this point, it truly was a mirror image of me as a female in modern clothing. ¡°Hey Aria~! I¡¯m here!¡± Thoth waves her hand at me while giving me a smile. ¡°...you¡¯re late.¡± I immediately reply. ¡°Ehehehe, yeah, um, about that¡­¡± ¡°Woke up late.¡± I state the reason she always gives for being late. ¡°But, but, it wasn¡¯t my fault you know!? Last night, there was a really cool movie at the cinema, and I went to watch with my family, and we came back late, and, and¡­¡± Her words trail off as she fails to think of an excuse for waking up late. ¡°...let¡¯s just go.¡± I tell her, walking out the door. ¡°Yeah, yeah, let¡¯s just forget about it and go register!¡± She says happily as she follows me. As optimistic as ever, she acts as if her being an hour late didn¡¯t matter very much. This was a common thing whenever we made plans to go out, so I was used to it. After locking the door, we both exit through the front gate and walk down the main road into the city. ¡°Although we were both men in our previous lives, I still feel a bit jealous looking at your appearance¡­¡± Thoth suddenly says. ¡°...why?¡± Curious about this sudden comment, I slow down my walking pace a bit to have her walk besides me. ¡°You have such beautiful hair, you look hot in those clothes, and that chest¡­¡± Her words cut off again as she stares at her own flat chest before grabbing at them. ¡°Why are you getting all the good stuff!? Why did I turn into you!?¡± She spontaneously starts throwing a tantrum, pounding her fists at me. She didn¡¯t put any strength into it, though, so it didn¡¯t hurt that much. ¡°...fate?¡± I truly did believe it was just fate playing around with us. ¡°What, so fate decided that you would get a D-cup at the age of 13!? I mean, look at these freaking things!¡± She yells while suddenly grabbing at my breasts. ¡°...luck?¡± I state the second reason that comes to my mind. This got me a blank stare from Thoth, who releases my chest. ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ you¡¯re always the lucky one¡­ it¡¯s like you have a stat for it and the limit for it broke¡­¡± She begins muttering as she abruptly stops and starts sulking near a telephone pole. I don¡¯t stop walking, knowing that she¡¯ll catch up anyway in a few seconds. Just as I predicted, a few minutes later, Thoth comes running from behind towards me, already over her short depression. ¡°Aria~ don¡¯t leave me behind like that! I don¡¯t wanna be left alone all the sudden, you know?!¡± She complains about miscellaneous things for the rest of the way, and I give short replies or just don¡¯t respond at all. We reach the heart of the city, where the guild building was located. Thoth and I have never come here before, so this would be our first time entering. We step through the front doors, surprised at the sight of the interior. The [Adventurer¡¯s Guild] was much more unique than we thought, the building very similar to a shopping mall. There were several floors to it, with escalators all over the interior of the building. There are several shops set up by craftsmen and merchants, but there were also taverns and training fields set up. I look at a nearby electronic map on a wall, before locating the [Guild Office] which was at the center of the mall. Thoth and I head towards that direction, looking at the shops set up on the way. There were several equipment stores, which surprisingly all had different categories of weapons. Based on their names, and what I can see from peeking through the doors, they were all class-based stores. Some of them looked like [Union] shops as well, the equipment marked with famous emblems I recognized on adventurers I encounter in the dungeon. [Unions] are several parties of adventurers gathered together, forming a large group within the guild. This feature was added to the [System] about a year ago, when another world was conquered. It synchronized with the [Event System], where they can earn bonus effects from the system based on their performances. These effects varied from slightly increased experience gain, minor increases in elemental magic, a small percent increase to damage and more. These effects are really miniscule at first, to the point where it¡¯s worth near nothing. But the larger a [Union] grows, and the more effects it gathers, they can stack and add up to quite a lot. I believe that the largest [Union] right now was called the [Epiphany]. A religion-based [Union], it was well known for owning effects that increases [Light Magic] abilities by 80%, and every other element by 50%. With that, they also have an effect that increases their armor¡¯s defence by 50% as well. ¡°Wow this place is awesome! Look at all the stuff they¡¯re selling here!¡± Thoth yells with excited tone, slowing down her pace a bit to examine the items in the display cases. ¡°...we¡¯ll visit later.¡± I tell her, pulling her away from the windows. When we reach the center of the mall, there¡¯s a huge cylindrical, glass elevator that goes to the very top of the mall. Inside the glass elevator, was a huge platform that seems to be powered by magic, connected to every floor in the mall. The panel had several buttons on it for each floor. At the very top, a button had the word ¡®Guild¡¯ on it, and I press it assuming that it will bring us to the [Guild Office]. The platform shoots upwards, the view through the glass becoming a blur. ¡°This is so cool! This is like riding on a dragon that¡¯s flying straight up into the sky! Woohoo!¡± Yes, this was a girl who¡¯s supposed to have a mental age of a few centuries. The elevator stops at the very top, which goes into a completely new floor that didn¡¯t have any merchants or shops in it. Instead, there were several hundred adventurers all gathered onto this floor. There were several reception desks that were occupied by staff members who either looked really handsome or really beautiful. Opposite to the desks were several doors with signs on them that lead to different areas. As soon as we exit the elevator, several adventurers notice us and begin pointing at us. Many of the male adventurers turned to look at us, giving us amorous looks. At least, that¡¯s what Thoth and the others said those kinds of expressions were. I didn¡¯t recognize very many of them, and they probably didn¡¯t know who I am. Normally, anyone that recognized me wouldn¡¯t be whistling at me, and they would be showing looks of respect instead. At least, that¡¯s what Thoth and the others told me whenever I notice those stares during competitions. A staff member leaves the desk she¡¯s working at and comes to greet us. She had a childish appearance, looking even younger than the both of us. Her pink hair was tied into a ponytail, the length of it going halfway her back. She actually wore a suit that fit her size, giving her a bit of a professional look. ¡°Welcome to the [Guild Office], my name is Kari. Are you two also students that just graduated?¡± She greeted us with a mature attitude, contrary to her appearance. ¡°Yep! We¡¯re here to register and become proper adventurers now!¡± Thoth replies cheerfully. ¡°Follow me, and if you have your [Adventurer¡¯s License] right now, we¡¯ll register you into the system right away.¡± The girl heads towards the doors, before entering one that had the sign displaying [Main Room]. ¡°Woah, look at all the [Magic Pylons] they have set up in here!¡± Thoth says out loud as we enter the room. The room contained many small glass pillars spread out, illuminating with a dim light and runic carvings. ¡°The [Guildmaster] just built this a year ago, throwing hundreds of thousands of gold into the project. Rather impressive, isn¡¯t it?¡± From the way she speaks, Kari definitely sounds more mature than she looks. [Magic Pylons] were extremely advanced devices made with both magic and technology. To use one, all that¡¯s needed is to have direct contact with it and provide mana to the small glass pillar. Upon doing so, your consciousness will be transferred into the obelisk, linking yourself to the pylon. These pillars are usually set up in networks, where there will be a main pylon while several others will be linked to it. They can be used as databases to compile information, and can have several other functions to it if a professional [Magic Engineer] worked on it. In this case, the [Magic Pylons] are the main form of receiving and completing quests within the guild. Of course, that¡¯s not the only function, but it¡¯s the main use of the pylons. ¡°Just put your hand on the pylon and it¡¯ll guide you through the registration. Your DNA will be recorded onto the databases, and it¡¯ll recognize you whenever you touch a pylon associated with the guild. You¡¯ll be able to add your statuses to your [Adventurer¡¯s Licenses], which will be updated automatically based on any changes you make through the pylon.¡± Kari explains to us. ¡°Okay then! Here¡¯s the moment where we¡¯ll officially be recognized as adventurers! Are you ready for this, Aria?¡± Thoth says, facing me. ¡°...yeah.¡± I reply, step towards one of the pylons. I sit down cross legged, with Thoth right next to me. We both stretch our hands out to the pillar, and touch the smooth, glass surface at the same time. My vision turns black in an instant, as if I was just engulfed in darkness. When it returns, I find myself floating some sort of light blue space with nothing in sight, completely nude. ¡°[Adventurer¡¯s License] detected. Confirming Identity. Adding DNA to database.¡± A voice similar to the [System] speaks out. ¡°Welcome to the [Guild Network]. Please confirm your status.¡± It says after completing its process.
NameAria Brynhildr
Age14 Years Old
GenderFemale
Titles[Angel of Annihilation] [Blinded Shadow] [Boundless] [Demon Slayer] [Devil Slayer] [Elementalist] [Fallen Hero] [Heartless] [Hunter of Giants] [Ice-Cold Predator] [Immortal Slayer] [Inferno Hunter] [Tempest Walker]
Classes[Arcane Knight] [Martial Artist] [Destroyer][Gun Paladin]
Level71
Health39,110
Mana38,360
Strength1532
Agility1617
Intelligence1504
A dark blue screen with my status appears. A [Yes/No] prompt appeared under it as well. Examining my stats, there was a slight difference from what it should be. The stats are a little over 2% of my original power. No, I can¡¯t release half a mark or a quarter of one. During my expeditions, I¡¯ve fought several thousand monsters and leveled up 8 times. Along with that, my stats have increased by over 100 each. Now, maybe some will think that it¡¯s a really slow pace for someone who trained for 6 years straight. Remember that my original abilities should be 50 times higher right now. That means it also takes 50 times more experience to level up in proportion to my abilities. So one level up with this curse on is the same as leveling up 50 times with my original power, and the same applies for my stats. It¡¯s the equivalent of leveling up 400 times, and my stats increasing by 500 each. Yes, that¡¯s right. My rate of growth is several times faster than it should be. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s supposed to be some sort of gift from fate or part of the [New Game Plus] skill, but it¡¯s quite unfair for someone like me to have this. Inheriting all my previous abilities and more, I can even grow at a rate faster than a genius training for his whole life to level up. Just like Thoth, whose level is over 100 now I believe. I confirm my status by pressing [Yes] on the screen in front of me, before it disperses into magic particles. ¡°Please confirm your main title. Only one can be chosen, and it shall be displayed on the [Adventurer¡¯s License] until it is changed.¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Angel of AnnihilationIncreases damage by 10%, grants [Overcome] skill.
Blinded ShadowIncreases [Dark Magic] proficiency by 75%, increases [Darkness Resistance] by 25%. Grants passive night vision, grants [Stalking Eyes].
BoundlessIncreases experience and stat gain even further
Demon SlayerIncreases damage against demons by 50%, increases [Darkness] resistance by 25%.
Devil SlayerIncreases damage against demons by 75%, increases [Darkness] resistance by 50%, increases stats by 5%.
ElementalistIncreases all elemental magic efficiency by 50%, decreases mana consumption of magic use by 25%.
Fallen HeroIncreases all stats by 10%, grants [Leadership Aura] skill.
HeartlessEnables [Aura of the Heartless] to inflict abnormal effects based on the level differences between the caster and anyone in their vicinity.
Hunter of GiantsIncreases [Strength] by 20%, grants [Pain Nullification].
Ice-Cold PredatorIncreases [Ice Magic] proficiency by 75%, increases [Ice Resistance] by 25%. Lowers body temperature naturally, grants [Aura of the Arctic].
Immortal SlayerIncreases all stats by 10%
Inferno SlayerIncreases [Fire Magic] proficiency by 75%, increases [Fire Resistance] by 25%. Increases body temperature naturally, grants [Blazing Trail].
Tempest WalkerIncreases [Wind Magic] proficiency by 75%, increases [Wind Resistance] by 25%. Increases by speed by 20%, grants [Storm Blast]
This was something new. I wasn¡¯t told anything about this during my classes, so I¡¯m not aware of what this exactly was. I didn¡¯t even know this existed, but it seems far too convenient. ¡°...help.¡± I say, hoping to get a response from the guide. ¡°Currently, you are able to select a main title. Each title grants their own effects to allow the holder to become stronger, and are all unique. This title will also be displayed on the [Adventurer¡¯s License], but it¡¯s effects won¡¯t be shown to those who view it. Only one title can be equipped at a time, and can be changed anytime by accessing any [Magic Pylon] associated with the guild.¡± The voice does respond, but still doesn¡¯t explain where it came from in the first place. ¡°Origination?¡± I ask the voice. ¡°Upon conquering the dungeon world, [Knulline], the [Party System] was upgraded and granted the title system.¡± I recall hearing something about another world being conquered, but I was in the middle of a [Hidden Boss] battle, so I ignored the [System]¡¯s voice. It still doesn¡¯t answer why none of my classes talked about this, though. ¡°...limit.¡± I say afterwards. ¡°The amount of titles an adventurer can equip is equivalent to their tier. A [Mortal Tier] adventurer can equip one main title, an [Immortal Tier] can hold two, and it goes on to the maximum limit of five main titles in the [Titan Tier]. Currently it is impossible to increase this limit.¡± I assume that the voice said ¡®currently¡¯ because it¡¯s a feat that may be possible in the future when the [Party System] is upgraded even further. Having no other questions to ask, I look through the list of titles I can select, wondering which to pick. They were all amazing in their own way, but the ones I was most interested in were the titles that granted me skills. Based on the description, if I equipped the [Heartless] title and used my aura, I can basically freeze my enemies in place. [Leadership Aura] was fairly self explanatory, which was the plainest of the skills. The [Boundless] title scared me a bit, thinking about how fast I would start leveling. If I added that onto my rate of growth, I might just reach level 4,000 before I hit adulthood. The titles I obtained from defeating [Hidden Bosses] with Thoth gave me higher magic affinity and a skill unique to its elements, with the exception of the [Hunter of Giants]. Although they were interesting, rather than specializing in one aspect, I focus more on balancing everything equally. Normally something like this would turn out to be a ¡®Jack-of-all-Trades,¡¯ and ¡®Master-of-None,¡¯ but I was a bit unique. I decide to pick the title that granted a skill I know nothing about. The title the [System] officially granted to me two years ago, I select the [Angel of Annihilation]. After pressing [Yes] on a confirmation prompt that came up after selecting it, the screen disperses away again, leaving me floating here alone in the light blue space. ¡°Registration complete. You are now an [S-Ranked] adventurer. The [Adventurer¡¯s Guild] network is now accessible. Would you like to access the network now?¡± Thoth was probably waiting for me, so I don¡¯t open it. I immediately press the decline button on the next screen that appear and a bright light blocks my vision again. A huge surge of wind suddenly rushes by me, and I suddenly find myself back in the real world, hand on the glass pillar. ¡°Finally~ took you way too long to finish!¡± The girl next to me says while stretching her body. ¡°...too many titles.¡± I explain. ¡°Yeah, and I bet all of them either increased your stats or gives you a new skill that makes you more overpowered than you are right now..¡± She guesses correctly. ¡°The both of you have successfully registered, correct? Your status will now be visible on your [Adventurer¡¯s License], along with your main title. Your adventurer tier and rank will be displayed on it as well, and if you choose to, you may join the [Leaderboard] for the guild.¡± Kari, who was standing behind us while we did this, says something that interests both Thoth and I greatly. ¡°Oh! Oh! By any chance, is this leaderboard something that ranks adventurers against each other?!¡± Thoth makes another guess, which is probably right as well. ¡°Correct. Due to competitions of strength between adventurers, the guild has decided to properly have a [Leaderboard] to display who is the strongest. In order to make it fair, we¡¯ve separated the rankings into different tiers. Rank 1 for the [Mortal Tier] will be different from rank 1 in the [Immortal Tier]. If you choose to join the [Leaderboard], you will have your [Leaderboard] rank displayed on your [Adventurer¡¯s License] as well.¡± She explains to us. ¡°...how to join?¡± I ask. ¡°Access the network using the [Magic Pylon], and you can join there.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll do that later then. Now that we¡¯re done registering, I want to go look at all the shops and [Unions] here!¡± Thoth says. Both are things that don¡¯t require the pylon, so it looks like we¡¯re going to head back to ground floor. [Unions] is a function part of the system, and it was far too difficult to integrate into the pylons. It¡¯s easier to just directly use the [System], so there¡¯s really no point to make it accessible via [Magic Pylons]. ¡°Then I shall return to my station. Thank you for joining the [Adventurer¡¯s Guild], and I wish for your survival in the future.¡± Kari bows before leaving the room, Thoth and I exiting shortly afterwards. On the way to the elevator, a couple of the men from earlier finally approached us, blocking our path. ¡°Hey there, I overheard you when you talked to Kari earlier. You¡¯re both new to the guild, huh? If you want, I can help you out with your early days and show you the ropes.¡± One of them says to us. This confirms that they didn¡¯t know who we were. ¡°Sorry, but we both learnt everything we needed to know, so no thanks! Now get out the way, please?¡± Thoth says with a fake smile on her face. ¡°Hah! Learning from the books is different than practical experience, you know? The first few days are overwhelming for any newbie, no need to get overconfident!¡± His friend says. Doesn¡¯t look like they¡¯re giving up, but I don¡¯t want to deal with this. ¡°Don¡¯t need help.¡± I say, already past him and inside the elevator. ¡°Wha-¡± ¡°Yep, so please don¡¯t bother us again!¡± Thoth interrupts him as she pushes him away before entering the elevator. I immediately press the button for the first floor, and as the door closes, the man shoves his feet right between them. ¡°Now just wait a minute. That¡¯s not how you treat someone who¡¯s more experienced than you. Don¡¯t just go disrespecting me without consequence!¡± He says as as open the door to the elevator again. This guy is way too persistent. It¡¯s starting to annoy me. ¡°I¡¯m going to have you two show me some re-¡± Again, his words are cut off, but this time it was because I kicked him in a very special place. ¡°Get out.¡± I throw him out of the elevator before pressing the button again, and this time we weren¡¯t stopped. ¡°Aria¡­ that was cruel¡­ how¡¯s he supposed to have children now?¡± Thoth says with a grimace on her face. She was formerly male, so she was able to imagine how painful it was to get kicked like that. ¡°...don¡¯t care.¡± I reply. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t either! Good job!¡± Her expression makes a full 180¡ã as she gives me a thumbs up. The high speed elevator makes it to the bottom during this short exchange. The fact that it can move that fast without me feeling it at all is seriously cool. I want to find out the type of magic used to create that, and see if I can utilize it practically in battle. ¡°And here we are! Let¡¯s go shopping~!¡± Thoth yells before immediately running through the crowds. I follow behind her, and we visit several of the stores we saw earlier. Just like I thought, they were all based on different classes. The biggest stores featured equipment for the common classes like [Swordsman] and [Thief]. The smaller stores sold equipment for more rare and unique classes, but they¡¯re of higher quality to make up for it. There weren¡¯t any shops for generalized classes that used several weapons at once, because they can get their equipment from a variety of different stores. We couldn¡¯t enter any of the [Union] shops, because we weren¡¯t part of any. Most of the employees treated us kindly, recommending items based on our appearances and asking some strange questions that seemed a bit too personal. Others treated us quite rudely, believing that we aren¡¯t really fit to be actual adventurers or aren¡¯t capable of using their store¡¯s equipments. There were even some adventurers making fun of us when we were looking at heavy armor, saying that we wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the weight. We did our best to ignore them, because it wouldn¡¯t do any good to start a fight within the guild building. ¡°Why does everything have to be so expensive~?¡± Thoth complains as she leaves a shop for [Berserkers]. ¡°...save money.¡± I suggest. I had over hundreds of gold coins from accumulating them over the years. I didn¡¯t buy very many things, and whenever I needed clothing, my parents or Thoth would buy them for me. ¡°But, but, I don¡¯t know how! Every time I go out, I always buy snacks, and if there¡¯s something that¡¯s pretty, I wanna buy it right away!¡± ¡°Your fault.¡± ¡°Bu! Aria~ let me borrow some gold! I wanna get that armor I saw in the [Berserker] shop!¡± She pleads to me. ¡°40% interest.¡± I reply. ¡°Geh! Um¡­ actually, I¡¯m really curious to see which [Unions] we can apply for! You want to check out which ones are available?¡± She asks me, changing the topic immediately. ¡°...no.¡± It seems like she forgot who I was for a second. ¡°Ah, yeah, you don¡¯t like to be part of a group. That¡¯s just how you are, isn¡¯t it?¡± I nod in reply to this. ¡°Then in that case, how about we-¡± ¡°Aria, my dear princess, it¡¯s been too long!¡± A familiar voice calls out to me. ¡°Tch, why¡¯d he appear now¡­¡± Thoth mutters something quietly, and I ignore it. I turn to the source of the voice, and sure enough, I see Pyrion walking towards me from the direction of the [Guild Office]. Over the years, he¡¯s changed quite a lot as well. I believe he¡¯s now a proper adult, standing at a height of around 185 centimeters. His appearance gave off a ¡®cool¡¯ vibe with his short black hair and cold look. Though whenever he talks to me, he adopts a more friendly attitude. ¡°Are you going to register as an adventurer right now?¡± He asks us. ¡°We already went to do that.¡± Thoth replied for me. ¡°Ah, is that so? I was given an [S-Rank] status, and I have no doubt that Aria is also an [S-Rank]. How about you, Thoth?¡± ¡°...[A-Rank]...¡± She whispers in reply. ¡°...what?¡± Both Pyrion and I say out loud, surprised. ¡°I got an [A-Rank]! Something wrong with that!? I didn¡¯t get an S just because I didn¡¯t ace the written portion of the exams! I mean, seriously, who the hell needs to know trigonometry and crap in the middle of the dungeon!? Who needs to know how to write a proper thesis when you¡¯re going to be killing stuff!? It¡¯s so freaking stupid! There¡¯s no reason for me to know this, but they still put me a rank behind!¡± She begins to rant in public, attracting the attention of other adventurers around us while we try to calm her down. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Sorry¡­¡± Thoth apologizes with her head down. After about 30 minutes of ranting, we brought her outside the building to a nearby park and managed to cool her down. When she finished, she realized what she just did and is now in a state of depression again. I didn¡¯t realize that cared that much about not being [S-Ranked]. ¡°Well, you can always just rank up to S through a test.¡± Pyrion says, trying to encourage her. ¡°Yeah, but I need to complete multiple [A-Ranked Dungeons] before that. By the time I finish that, Aria¡¯s probably going to be in the [Immortal Tier].¡± She says. Is that what she¡¯s worried about? How dumb. ¡°Mmf!?¡± Thoth lets out a strange sound as I suddenly wrap my arms around her, pulling her into my bosom. ¡°I¡¯ll wait.¡± I say as I hug her tightly. She was my first friend, and my closest, and there¡¯s really no reason for me to leave her behind. It¡¯s not like there¡¯s any competition for me when it comes to being the strongest. ¡°...thanks.¡± Thoth says, hugging me back. We remain like that for a bit, forgetting about the third person that was with us. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll take my leave now¡­ I¡¯ll see you two around I guess¡­ not like you¡¯re listening to me or anything.¡± We both ignored his farewell though, and when we¡¯re finally done with our little moment, Thoth starts talking about what we should do now that we¡¯ve graduated. ¡°For now, I¡¯m going to have to go around conquering [A-Ranked Dungeons]. There¡¯s not enough of them here in Atalin, so I¡¯m going to have to visit the other countries as well.¡± She tells me. ¡°...I¡¯ll come too.¡± I tell her. ¡°Nope! You¡¯re definitely not!¡± Surprisingly, she refused me. ¡°What you¡¯re going to do, is train even more! You got a butt load of other things to learn, don¡¯t you? Remember the wish I told you about before our final battle? I want to see you complete it, so don¡¯t disappoint me now that you have the chance!¡± A smile appears on her face, and I¡¯m sure surprise was on mine. ¡°...I¡¯ll complete your wish.¡± I say to her, feeling a smile run across my face. ¡°Aw, there it is! That angelic smile!¡± Thoth says before poking my cheek. She did this every time I smiled, which I never understood. Not like I disliked it though. ¡°Tomorrow, we¡¯ll go do our first quest together, okay?¡± ¡°...Okay.¡± We spent the rest of the day just hanging out and talking, before headed home. Mother still didn¡¯t return today, but it was fine. V2 Chapter 3: The Quest Chapter 3: The Quest ¡°So, today¡¯s finally the day my little princess goes off on her adventurer.¡± My father says to me, standing at the doorway. Today I¡¯m supposed to do my first quest with Thoth, and right now I was going to go to the [Adventurer¡¯s Guild] to meet up with her. I was also carrying a backpack my father prepared for me. Most of the time, high level quests took a long period of time to complete, and we were searching for [A-Ranked] quests. It¡¯s very likely that it¡¯ll take at least a week to complete, so he packed me several things he deemed necessary for a long term adventure. ¡°Remember, don¡¯t get overconfident and pick something beyond your power. Be sure to do whatever you can within your power, but rely on Thoth a bit as well. Alright?¡± He advises me. I nod to this, and he smiles before rubbing my head. ¡°Good girl. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll listen to daddy. It¡¯s kind of a disappointment that Hana isn¡¯t here today to see you off, but I¡¯m sure she¡¯d be in tears while doing so. I know that she¡¯d be proud though, seeing her little girl go off on her first adventure. Be safe, and have fun.¡± Again, I nod to this, before turning around and walking down the road. As I walk away from home, I spin around and wave at my father. He waves back, and I turn back to the road and sprint towards the mall. Time for my first quest. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°...repeat that.¡± I say to the smiling girl standing in front of me. ¡°I said, we¡¯re going to go dragon slaying! I found it as an emergency quest that requires at least [Mortal Tier] [A-Ranked] adventurers! There¡¯s going to be a raid against a dragon that attacked a nearby city the other day, and escaped into the [Undead Mountain] after sustaining heavy wounds!¡± Thoth repeats for me, following my request. ¡°...bye.¡± I immediately start walking away, before Thoth grabs the hem of my shirt in a panick. ¡°Wait! Why!? It¡¯s a dragon! A dragon I tell you! I haven¡¯t fought one since the year before our final battle! Come on! It¡¯ll be so exciting!¡± Desperate to have me come, she holds onto my shirt as I drag her behind me. Currently, we were in the middle of the lobby for the [Guild Office], which was the designated meeting point. We attract the attention of several other adventurers around us, shamelessly causing a scene. At this point, we¡¯re building ourselves a reputation of being two eccentric girls. Our reputation started building up yesterday when we rejected the advances of the men and easily beaten in two aspects; speed and strength. After that, Thoth went on her little tantrum about her rank, the scene of Pyrion and I literally dragging her outside the building. Obviously, this gave more cause for them to think we¡¯re eccentric, but it¡¯s not like I¡¯m denying it. ¡°...troublesome.¡± I stop and say to the girl holding on my shirt. ¡°What do you mean troublesome!? It¡¯s a dragon! Of course it¡¯s not going to be easy to kill it, unless you cheat!¡± She yells. Of course by cheating, she must be referring to unsealing myself. ¡°...too much work.¡± I try again with another excuse ¡°Now you¡¯re lazy!? Forget that! You¡¯re coming anyway!¡± She yells out loud. With a sudden surge in strength, she grabs me in a choke hold and drags me across the lobby into the main room. I don¡¯t resist at all, because doing so will only make her try even harder. Whenever Thoth became like this, it was pretty much impossible for me to change her mind. At least, I haven¡¯t found a way yet, but I¡¯d appreciate it if someone else found a method that would let me do so. ¡°Okay! I already accepted the quest, so you go ahead and use the pylon! I¡¯m going to look through the [Unions], see if there¡¯s anything interesting to join!¡± Thoth puts her hands on the pylon immediately afterwards, and closes her eyes. I do the same, feeling my consciousness being pulled into the glass pillar. ¡°Welcome to the [Adventurer¡¯s Guild] network.¡± The androgynous voice speaks out. The blue space around me sudden shifts, before it transforms into a large room. The interior was made of some sort of black stained glass, which was barely transparent at all. At least, I thought it was supposed to be glass, but then a dim, white light suddenly illuminates from it. A few seconds after, several progress bars appear in every wall surrounding me. After all of the bars were filled, a huge display of windows popped up on the glass screens surrounding me. Each wall had different subjects being displayed, the subjects being; [Archives], [], [Unions] and [Quests]. Although I was interested in the [Archives], I didn¡¯t want to keep Thoth waiting. Facing the screen that displays the quests, I only saw two options being displayed: [Available Quests] [Quests in Progress] I immediately touch the first choice on the glass, and a new window appears displaying five more options: [Mortal Tier] [Immortal Tier] [Legend Tier] [God Tier] [Titan Tier] So they had the quests categorized as well. I try tapping the [Immortal Tier] choice to see what would happen, and it brought up a window displaying the message; ¡®Unable to access. Immortal Tier status required.¡¯ It was quite unexpected, being unable to even view the quests. It didn¡¯t really matter to me, though, so I simply swipe away the window and select the [Mortal Tier] option. This time, it showed six more options, from [D-Rank] to [S-Rank] and an [Emergency Quest] option above all of them. I assume that these options were the same at the previous. If someone wasn¡¯t a high enough rank, they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to pick these quests. It seems like there¡¯s a system adventurers can only view quests within their rank and abilities, which is a pretty good way to prevent overconfident rookies from selecting quests out of their league. I select the [Emergency Quest] choice, and a new window pops up, displaying what should be a list, but only had one option in it. Probably because it was the only emergency quest available. Upon touched the name, the details came up for it along with the choice to accept or decline it.
Emergency QuestDragon Slaying
Requirements[Mortal Tier] [Rank A] adventurer
DetailsA dragon has attacked [Belsburg], and has escaped to a nearby dungeon field. Adventurers with statuses of [Mortal Tier] [A-Ranked] or higher are requested to join the subjugation of the dragon.
LocationThe gathering point will be at the town of [Belsburg] on June 31st, before the expedition to the [Undead Mountain] begins.
Rewards10 gold, a share of the materials harvested from the dragon
AcceptDecline
I accepted the quest, and the window closes itself before bringing me back to the previous menu, with all the quests categorized in ranks. The choice for [Emergency Quest] was gone though, probably because there were none left for me to take. I decide to look at the [S-Ranked] quests available and see if there¡¯s anything that might interest me at all. The list was fairly short, probably because there wasn¡¯t much need for [S-Ranked] adventurers on Sykerion. Most of the quests contained subjugations and escorts through dangerous [Dungeon Fields], which were all boring to me. There was one that slightly piqued my interest though.
S-Ranked QuestComposite Magic Research Assistance
RequirementsProficiency with multiple categories of magic, at least level 5 in each.
DetailsHigh Mage Yubin requires an assistant to help research advanced composite magic. Research involves elemental magic, runic magic and spiritual magic.
LocationPeak of the Undead Mountain
RewardsKnowledge of advanced composite magic
AcceptDecline
I can barely see anyone actually fulfilling the requirements, and I doubt most people would care for advanced [Composite Magic], but this was something I found interest in. Learning magic that I don¡¯t already know is one of my greater hobbies, because it¡¯s always nice to have a large arsenal of magic for any situation. Combining advanced magic kind of interested me anyway. Besides, the location stated that the mage would be at the top of the [Undead Mountain], my next location. I¡¯ll be able to go there after slaying the dragon I accept the quest, and closed all the windows that were opened. The glass screen returned to displaying the first two options given to me. Now that I¡¯m done with everything, I decided to leave. Actually, now that I think about it, I don¡¯t know how to leave the pylon. ¡°...how to leave?¡± I try asking. ¡°If you wish to exit the pylon, simply just break the glass anywhere, and you¡¯ll be transported back out.¡± The voice answers me. As soon as I hear this, I back hand the glass and shatter it. My vision is filled with a bright light, and the feeling of a heavy gust of wind hits me again, just like last time. When the light disappears, I open my eyes and again, find myself in the real world. ¡°You accepted the quest. right!? Right!?¡± She asks loudly, and I nod in reply. ¡°Let¡¯s get going then! C¡¯mon!¡± She yells as she grabs my hand, and runs out the door. Several adventurers watch us burst out the door to the main room and head towards the elevator. There were other adventurers using it, the doors already starting to close. Before I realize it, Thoth lets go of my hand for a second and sprints to the elevator, grabbing hold of the doors just before they close. Obviously, this surprises the adventurers inside, but she nonchalantly forces the elevator doors wide open again and step in. She keeps the doors opened for me, letting go after I enter the elevator. It looks like there was a small party of adventurers in here as well. A total of three girls and two boys, and they look like they were much older than us. Every single one of them wore heavy plated armor with elaborate designs on them, and the royal insignia was embedded onto their shoulderplates. A party full of heavy warriors, it seems. ¡°Sorry about that, but we¡¯re kind of in a rush!¡± She apologizes to them. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s fine! Just a bit surprised, seeing a cute girl suddenly forcing her way into the elevator.¡± One of the boys replies. Although the group was surprised at Thoth¡¯s sudden action, they regained their calm almost immediately. ¡°So, what¡¯s the rush for? Are you doing the emergency quest too?¡± One of the girls ask. ¡°That¡¯s right! Are you all going too!?¡± The others nod in reply to Thoth¡¯s question. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re going to fly there via transport helicopter. It¡¯ll be much faster than going by foot.¡± They tell us. ¡°Oh my god, that sounds so cool! Do you have two more seats that can fit me and my friend!?¡± I don¡¯t like where this is going. ¡°I believe so, but I don¡¯t think our supervisor will take random people with us¡­ maybe we can ask for permission?¡± The same boy who replied earlier answers again, so it seems like he¡¯s the leader of this small party. ¡°Most likely she¡¯ll just test them and depending on how they do, she¡¯ll let them join.¡± A member of his group confirms. Upon hearing this, a huge grin appears on Thoth¡¯s face. ¡°Aria, can we go to Belsburg with these guys!? Come on, I never rode on any sort of aircraft before! Pretty please!?¡± She says while hugging my right arm, and looking up at me with puppy eyes. I sigh to myself as I nod in acceptance. This was something she started doing recently when there was something she really wanted, and I couldn¡¯t really resist whenever I saw those eyes. It seems like Thoth will always be able to get her way with me no matter what I do. ¡°Woohoo! Thank you Aria! Okay, now let¡¯s go take that test and get a free ride to Belsburg!¡± She yells out with excitement. We leave the mall with the group of soldier adventurers, following them. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Currently, we were being driven to the group¡¯s military base settled outside of the city. On the way, Thoth began making conversation with them. We told them our names and adventurer ranks, which they didn¡¯t believe until we showed them our license. After, we learnt their name, rank, and even their classes. The boy who represented their group was indeed the leader, his name was Jinada. He was as [Immortal Tier] [C-Ranked] adventurer, and his class was [Paladin]. His hair was short and blond, with a handsome appearance. Although we couldn¡¯t really see his body, he seemed fairly sturdy and strong to wear that armor around casually. He is very kind to us, and reminded me of Pyrion in a way. I feel like I¡¯ve seen him before, but I can¡¯t remember when. The other male was the strongest of the party, from what they say. His name is Morne, and he was an [Immortal Tier] [A-Ranked] adventurer, the highest rank in their party. His class was [Berserker], which has the most offensive capabilities within the common classes. His hair was short and black, his eyes also blue. He is the total opposite of Jinada; I believe he falls under the ¡®pervert,¡¯ based on what Raina and Thoth told me. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. The three girls were all sisters, with similar appearances. The difference between them were their hair, eyes and their personalities; the former being relative to a different color. The color of their armor was even based of off their own hair colors, and they were all [Magic Knights] with their own affinities. Their respective colors were red, blue and green. The girl in red is named Pyre, and she¡¯s not so different from Thoth; a fiery attitude and always overexcited. She has medium red hair tied into a ponytail, and her armor is a flaming red color. Her weapon is a huge lance that¡¯s normally used for cavalry charges, a weapon choice I¡¯m not questioning. From what she told us, her magic affinity is [Elemental Magic], which is the most common for [Magic Knights]. The second girl¡¯s name is Mira, and she¡¯s more calm and composed than the other two, but was quite cold to us. Her dark blue hair ran down her back, nearly reaching her waist. Her armor has a sea blue color, and her weapon of choice is a longsword. Her magic affinity is [Runic Magic], which was quite an interesting choice for a [Magic Knight]. The final sister was someone who I wouldn¡¯t expect to even be an adventurer at all. A timid girl named Cam, she was the smallest of the three. Her hair was the shortest, cut in a bob cut style, and her armor and hair color was green. Despite being so small, she also wore the heavy armor without a sweat, and her weapon was a battle axe that was bigger than her body. Her magic affinity was the strangest for a [Magic Knight], which was [Support Magic]. ¡°You know, even though she doesn¡¯t look like it, she¡¯s the strongest out of the three.¡± Morne whispers to us, just out of earshot of the three sisters. ¡°Seriously!? No way! She¡¯s like a little bunny! That adorable little girl makes me think of a colleague I graduated with. Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t come today, because she was going to stay with her family for a bit, and they¡¯re living outside the city.¡± Thoth has a disappointed expression for a bit, but it returns to normal a second afterwards. ¡°Anyway! Time for our introduction! I¡¯m Thoth Farlite, a [Mortal Tier] [A-Rank] adventurer! And this is my faithful pet¨C¡± I smack her head lightly before she finishes that sentence. ¡°¨Cfriend, Aria Brynhildr!¡± She changes her sentence quickly, before turning to me and sticking tongue out playfully. ¡°This girl, is the one person you don¡¯t want to mess with. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve all at least heard of her name.¡± She says with a proud look on her face. ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°Sorry, doesn¡¯t ring a bell.¡± ¡°...¡± A moment of silence runs through the group for a bit, before Thoth breaks it. ¡°Are you kidding me!? Did none of you watch any of the [Inter-School Tournaments]?! ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t interested.¡± ¡°I¡¯m usually outside the city during that time of the year.¡± ¡°...¡± Another moment of silence fills the air as Thoth processes their excuses in her head. ¡°How have none of you seen at least one in the past 6 years!?¡± Thoth blows up again, angrily shouting now. The others were finding this hilarious though, and began laughing as her temper flared. Before she got any more heated up, I put my hand on her head and start patting it. ¡°...they¡¯ll see.¡± I say, trying to calm her down. This seems to work every time, so it was useful whenever she was mad like this. ¡°...yeah. They¡¯ll be able to see you in action soon enough!¡± She replies with a smile. For the rest of the way, the group shared their adventurer stories with us. Apparently, they are members of the royal military, and are actually apart of a special operations squad. This group is called the [Arcadian Knights], an elite force that is often sent to undergo special tasks for the kingdom. This can vary from major incidents like this dragon attack, or they are occasionally assigned to travel to other worlds to complete certain quests. When they finally lead us to their destination, we found ourselves standing in front of a massive, arched steel gate with two doors. If both the [Yeti] and [Inferno Bear] walked through together side by side, they¡¯d be able to fit through with no problem at all. The walls were made with a special magic resistant stone called [Arcin], and there were several towers set up with soldiers stationed in them. ¡°And we¡¯re finally here! Welcome to area 9, also known as [Arcadia]!¡± Jinada says proudly. ¡°So, which one of you wants to try first?¡± Pyre suddenly asks. ¡°Huh?¡± Thoth lets out, confused. I didn¡¯t understand either. ¡°See the gate? It takes both Jinada and I to even push it open. Want to try testing your strength?¡± Morne explains to us, before making the same offer. ¡°Oh~ is that so? Okay then! I¡¯ll go first!¡± Thoth says enthusiastically, while skipping to the gate. ¡°You sure you want to do it alone? It¡¯d be easier if Aria were to help¨C¡± Morne says. He doesn¡¯t finish his sentence though, because the sight in front of him was unbelievable. With both hands, Thoth pushes the left gate open. It was obvious that she wasn¡¯t exerting that much force, because her expression remained casual as she did this. The gate opened slowly, until it¡¯s finally pushed out all the way, and there wasn¡¯t even a drop of sweat on her. ¡°Phew~ what a nice warmup!¡± Thoth says while stretching her arms. ¡°Only a warmup? Something like that should¡¯ve been impossible!¡± Mira tells us. The entire group stares at Thoth in astonishment, but she shrugged her shoulders in response. ¡°Aria, try to push the door.¡± Thoth motions me to come over, and I comply. I walk up to the right door of the gate that was still closed, and rest my palm on it. Currently, I only have two of my marks enabled, so my strength was over 700 right now. I push forward with a moderate amount of strength, and the gate bursts open as if a storm just blasted through. At this point, the expressions on the faces of our new friends were priceless. ¡°Okay! Let¡¯s go meet your supervisor person and pass this test of hers!¡± Thoth ignores the reaction of the five knights, and turns to enter the gate. ¡°What test? And what kind of demons are you two to open the gates of [Arcadia] so easily?¡± A mature woman suddenly appears before us. Her hair was apple red, and her figure was imposing despite being quite small. I can feel a large amount of mana residing in her body, so she seems to be a powerful mage. I feel like I recognize her as well, but I can¡¯t remember from where. ¡°Ah, Ms. Evalot! What a coincidence, I was about ask for you!¡± Jinada says before we could answer. Upon seeing him, the woman immediately bows to him. ¡°My lord, I came right away upon being notified by the guards of your return.¡± She immediately replies. So this guy was also royalty, it seems. ¡°May I ask why you¡¯ve brought these two children here? Though I can imagine why from what I just saw, but I¡¯m hoping that you really didn¡¯t bring them for that reason.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re thinking transportation to Belsburg, then you got it right.¡± Jinada replies, leading his party through the gates. ¡°They¡¯re adventurers who are also participating in the subjugation, and they¡¯ve definitely met the requirements for it with their strength alone, as you just saw.¡± Upon hearing Jinada¡¯s words, the woman named Evalot sighs heavily. ¡°Even so, we can¡¯t just randomly take along passengers that are not part of the military. We need permission from either the [Adventurer¡¯s Guild] or the King himself.¡± For some reason, she was glaring at the both of us for a second, but it disappears quickly. ¡°Don¡¯t care. As long as they don¡¯t find out it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s not like giving them a ride will result in a world war.¡± Jinada replies nonchalantly. ¡°Come on, we have two more spots on the helicopter, may as well use them!¡± Morne adds. ¡°...we should bring them.¡± Even Cam was going along with the flow. ¡°Hah¡­ really, you guys¡­ fine. They can come along, but you have to promise me one thing. You five will take responsibility for them, so be sure to keep them alive.¡± Evalot gives up almost immediately, allowing us to join them. ¡°I¡¯m going to tell the others to prepare the transport helicopter. My lord, I¡¯ll need you to come with me for a bit. The rest of you, go prepare your equipment and get ready to leave.¡± She says before walking away at a quick pace. ¡°Ah, Ms. Evalot, wait up!¡± Jinada chases after her quickly, leaving the rest of the group behind. ¡°...that was easy.¡± Thoth says, with a dull look on her face. It was pretty anticlimactic, after all. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing? Honestly, I didn¡¯t expect her to accept so easily as well, this is a first. Well, let¡¯s just go with it, before she changes her mind!¡± Pyre says to us. ¡°Sure! When are you guys leaving?¡± Thoth asks them. ¡°2 hours from now. We¡¯re going to pack some equipment and any necessities now, so just go to the barracks and wait for us there.¡± Mira tells us, before walking away without giving us another glance. ¡°...cold.¡± I whisper. ¡°Yeah, I know right?¡± Thoth replies back quietly. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Third Person Perspective: ¡°Ms. Evalot, what did you need me for?¡± Jinada says. He was currently walking besides his former teacher, confused on why he was brought along. ¡°I apologize for separating you from your friends, but we need to talk about the two you¡¯ve brought.¡± She replies to him. ¡°Thoth and Aria? Is there something wrong? If you¡¯re worried about their survival, they can definitely handle themselves. Especially Aria, she was able to open the Arcadian gate with a single hand! How amazing!¡± Jinada says with amazement in his voice. ¡°Yes, those two are certainly strong. But there¡¯s something strange with those two.¡± Upon seeing them, Evalot used [Magic Perception] on see the magic affinities of the two girls. She could hardly believe what she saw. ¡°Do you know what their classes are?¡± She asks Jinada. ¡°Their classes? Now that I think about it, they haven¡¯t told us. They should be some sort of warrior class, otherwise, there would be no way they can open the Arcadian gate so easily.¡± Jinada speaks his thoughts out loud. ¡°That¡¯s the natural thing to assume, correct. But, I was able to view their magic affinities without them noticing, and the strength of those two are far beyond comprehension. Not only are the both of them strong, but they are very adept with magic. The smaller girl, Thoth, has a great affinity with [Darkness] and [Runic Magic] in general. If I had to guess, her proficiency with those two are beyond level five.¡± Evalot tells him. ¡°No way!? Someone as strong as that is also very capable in magic!? That¡¯s amazing!¡± Jinada¡¯s now starting to see Thoth in a more positive life. He¡¯s read and listened to the stories about [Arcane Knights], so seeing someone adept in both magic and physical abilities excited him. ¡°Amazing, huh? Well, in that case, her companion must be godlike.¡± Evalot suddenly says. ¡°...huh?¡± Confused, Jinada suddenly stops walking for a bit. ¡°Her affinity is of black and white.¡± Evalot says while turning to face him. ¡°Wait, black and white? Doesn¡¯t that mean¡­¡± Jinada processes this in his mind for a bit, before his eyes slowly become wide opened. ¡°...yes. It seems like something big may happen in the future.¡± Evalot begins walking ahead again without waiting for Jinada. ¡°...an [Arcane Knight].¡± He whispers to himself. ¡°Someone who can possibly be an [Arcane Knight]!¡± Suddenly, his previous calm demeanor completely disappears, and is now replaced with an excited expression. Now that he¡¯s found someone with the potential to hold the dream class he¡¯s always admired, Jinada wants to make it come true. He is incapable of reaching that level though, but because of Aria¡¯s appearance, he wants to see the training and cultivation of an [Arcane Knight] in person. First off, he had to convince her to go along with the idea of becoming an [Arcane Knight] but along with that, he also needed a way to befriend so she can become a potential ally in the future. An [Arcane Knight] fighting alongside him and his men was something he would like to see. ¡°Aria, you¡¯re going to be mine!¡± Though he could¡¯ve worded that better, Jinada says that out loud with determination in his voice. Only if he knew that Aria was already an [Arcane Knight], and that all his actions in the future will be a hindrance or annoyance rather than actually progressing with the relation. V2 Chapter 4: The Town of Belsburg Chapter 4: The Town of Belsburg ¡°Can we ride on the helicopter again? Can we, can we?¡± Thoth asks over and over. We¡¯re currently inside the town of [Belsburg], inside a tavern near the entrance of the town. All six of us are sitting around a circular table, but Thoth was sitting on my lap for some reason. ¡°No. It¡¯s not a vehicle made for entertainment, and even if it was, I won¡¯t allow it.¡± Evalot immediately answers. ¡°What!? Why not!?¡± She yells. ¡°Because I don¡¯t want you hanging off the edge while airborne again.¡± Evalot replies. ¡°You¡¯re aware that this is supposed to be a subjugation quest, right? We aren¡¯t going for a walk in the forest, we¡¯re going to kill a dragon.¡± Mira says to her. ¡°But there¡¯s still 13 days until the expedition starts, we can afford to have a little fun!¡± Thoth replies. ¡°So you¡¯re going to slack off until the day comes? You¡¯re still only [A-Ranked], meeting the minimum requirements for this quest. You shouldn¡¯t overestimate yourself.¡± This statement causes Thoth to become a bit agitated, so I immediately pat her head to calm her down. ¡°Mira, that¡¯s mean! Don¡¯t be so rude to the girls, you gotta treat them nicely!¡± Morne rebukes. ¡°Hearing that from you sounds pathetic, pervert.¡± They began to glare at each other, while Cam tries to mediate between them. Pyre just sits there drinking a pint of beer while Evalot and Jinada continues the conversation. ¡°Well, the both of you are not part of the military, so neither of you are obligated to listen to us. Feel free to go tour around in the town if you¡¯d like.¡± Jinada says. ¡°My lord, I shall remind you now that you are responsible for them now? If they cause any¨C¡± Evalot words are cut off as Jinada interrupts her. ¡°I know I said that, but really, all they asked for was a ride, not a chaperone. They¡¯re not children, and it¡¯s a good chance for them to meet the other adventurers gathering in the town.¡± He tells her. ¡°Yeah, yeah, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m a responsible person!¡± Thoth says with pride in her voice. ¡°...Aria, make sure the town isn¡¯t burning by the end of the day.¡± Jinada bows to me, and I nod in reply to his request. ¡°What, you don¡¯t trust me!?¡± Jumping off my lap, she yells out loud. She caught the attention of other people in the tavern, but they quickly turn away. ¡°No.¡± I instantly reply, voicing the thoughts of everyone else. ¡°Y-you too, Aria?¡± My best friend looks at me with a shocked expression on her face. ¡°Yes.¡± Unfortunately for her, I¡¯m a heartless person. A few seconds later, Thoth is doing her usual act of sulking alone in the corner of the room. ¡°Hey Aria, what do you two plan on doing now? There¡¯s still 13 days, but you¡¯re not going to spend all 13 days touring around, right?¡± Jinada asks me, and I nod in reply. ¡°In that case, why don¡¯t you give me your number? In case you want to see us whenever you two are bored.¡± He suggests with a strange smile on his face. ¡°Oh, oh, can you give me your number as well?¡± Finished quarrelling with Mira, Morne also asks for my phone number. It was a nice idea, and I was about to do it until a heavy aura filled the air. ¡°What were you trying to get from Aria?¡± A dark figure appears behind both Morne and Jinada, which reveals itself to be Thoth. ¡°J-just her number¡­ for emergency purposes¡­?¡± Morne responds with nervous laughter. Jinada didn¡¯t say anything at all. ¡°Emergency purposes, huh? Have mine instead then, okay? No reason for you to have Aria¡¯s number specifically, right?¡± She phrased it as a question, but it seemed more like a forced demand. Even though she was smiling, Thoth was scarier than ever at this moment. They both had no choice but to accept her proposal, and got her number instead of mine. She got Pyre¡¯s number as well, but the other two refused to give her their contact information. It seems like we still haven¡¯t earned their trust yet. ¡°My lord, we should be on our way now. The appointed time is approaching, we shouldn¡¯t be late to the meeting with the other groups.¡± Evalot informs him. ¡°Understood. Aria, Thoth, we¡¯ll be going now. We¡¯ll be returning to this tavern tonight to rest if you wish to remain with us, otherwise, you are free to do as you like.¡± Jinada stands up, the rest of his group following suit, and they all leave the tavern together. ¡°So we¡¯re finally alone again, huh? Want to go walk around town?¡± Thoth asks me. ¡°...sure.¡± I say, and stand up from the table. ¡°Ah wait, misses!¡± The waiter calls out to us. ¡°Hm? Yes, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Thoth answers for us. ¡°The bill hasn¡¯t been paid yet.¡± ¡°...¡± ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C After leaving the tavern, we explored the town a bit. It wasn¡¯t very big, with a few stores here and there. There was a smaller scale version of the [Adventurer¡¯s Guild] here, most likely because this was a small town. The parking lot was completely packed, due to the amount of adventurers that came to complete the quest. We enter the building, curious about how different it would be from the one in our hometown. There¡¯s still equipment and items that can be bought in preparations to the subjugation from stores in the building, but there were very few that sold anything of decent quality. The [Guild Office] was a large booth in the center of the building, not as unique as the one back home. ¡°This is Pyrion¡¯s hometown, right? You think he¡¯ll be around?¡± Thoth asks while we walk around. ¡°...yesterday, at guild building¡­¡± I tell her. ¡°Oh yeah, that¡¯s right. Well, I guess we won¡¯t be seeing him any time soon.¡± She says with a happy tone. ¡°But I¡¯m quite surprised that Pyrion came from a place like this. He gives off the impression of a rich, prideful guy, you know?¡± ¡°...yeah.¡± I reply in agreement. Sometimes, he gets a bit full of himself, but he¡¯s really kind to his friends. At least, he¡¯s kind to me. Thoth begins talking about miscellaneous things as we walk around, but we really had nothing better to do. There were a few contests being held here and there, but they seemed to be too plain and boring, so we didn¡¯t bother participating or spectating any of them. ¡°Hey Aria, look at that! It¡¯s a gun shop, you want to look around?¡± Knowing that I was into collecting guns, she points at a store I would be interested in. ¡°...sure.¡± We enter the shop together, but immediately, I could tell that it wasn¡¯t a great store. The first thing I notice about the shop was that it had nothing unique. The clerk didn¡¯t even look like someone who knows how to pull the trigger on a gun, and they didn¡¯t have a variety of guns in general. Most of them were [Physical Guns], all of them which were common weapons. The featured weapons in the display cases weren¡¯t that great as well. The sound of gunshots can be heard, so there must be a firing range here. ¡°Woah, look at all the guns they have in here!¡± Thoth was excited though, because it was her first time entering a gun store. ¡°...nothing special.¡± I speak my thoughts aloud. ¡°Right, I forgot you were a gun expert. You wouldn¡¯t be collecting so many otherwise.¡± A scowl can be seen on the face of the clerk, who heard us. ¡°...let¡¯s leave.¡± I didn¡¯t want to cause any unnecessary trouble, but it seems like the man thought otherwise. ¡°What does a clueless girl know about guns anyway?¡± He purposely says out loud for us to hear. ¡°...what did you say?¡± Thoth¡¯s expression changed immediately upon hearing his comment. ¡°What? Got a problem? Little girls like you two should be playing with magic instead of guns.¡± ¡°What do you know, you¨C!¡± Nearly about to cause a scene, I stop Thoth right away. I was going to walk away at first, but this guy was getting on my nerves. I want to prove him wrong without harming him, so the only way I can think of is showing my skill with a gun. ¡°...firing range?¡± I ask the clerk. ¡°You want to prove me wrong? Good luck with that.¡± He sneers at me as he points to a door behind the desk. I immediately enter through with Thoth following behind. Inside, was a firing range with several people occupying different bays. I choose an empty one near the far end of the range, attracting the attention of some of the people in the range. I examine the bay as I enter it, and find it similar to the armory back at school. There was a metal sheet with a handprint, and a screen right under it. Familiar with how this worked, I create several targets down the range at different distances. I also gave them the command to move spontaneously left and right so that they¡¯d be harder to hit. ¡°Hey genius, it looks like you know how to use the booth, but you don¡¯t have a gun.¡± The clerk calls out from outside the bay. I use [Spatial Magic] to access the [Spatial Pocket], and summoned a [Magnum] to manifest in my hand. After doing so, I raise the gun to show that I indeed have a weapon to use. He was surprised to see the weapon in my hand, because he didn¡¯t see me carry it in. I aim the [Magnum] down the range with one hand, before firing seven consecutive shots. Every single one of them hits the target¡¯s head, destroying them completely. ¡°What the heck? They were moving so fast, and she got a headshot for all of them?¡± ¡°They were all destroyed in one shot? What pistol is she using? Is that a [Magnum]?¡± ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t that the [HNTR]!? This girl¡¯s casually using that with one hand!?¡± There were other spectators who were watching me fire down the range, and they seem to be impressed with what they just saw. They became amazed when they realized that I was using a powerful [Magnum], and I was able to fire it using one arm. What they didn¡¯t know was that the gun I¡¯m using isn¡¯t exactly the [HNTR]. ¡°Pfft, it¡¯s obviously enchanted to home in on the targets. It¡¯s probably not even a real [HNTR] as well.¡± The clerk says with spite. ¡°What makes you so sure about that, Birn?¡± One of the soldiers asks him. ¡°Just take a look at the person! You think a girl like her can hit three moving targets consecutively or fire a [Magnum] with one hand!?¡± He yells back. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°...here.¡± I say as I present the handle of the gun to him. ¡°You want me to use your fake weapon? What¡¯s the point in that?¡± He replies. ¡°What, you talk a bunch of crap but won¡¯t back it up?¡± ¡°If you want to prove a point, they why don¡¯t you shoot the damn thing?¡± ¡°Action speaks louder than words, better prove your claims, Birn!¡± The other men taunt him, pressuring him to accept the gun. ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll shoot the damn thing and prove that this girl is completely faking us.¡± He says with complete confidence. He grabs the gun out of my hand, and walks into the open bay next to mine. He summons several targets down the range, putting them in the same positions I did and commanding them to move as well. After setting it up, he aims the [Magnum] down the range with a stance that Jericho would call, ¡®the textbook example.¡¯ Honestly, he actually had good form, which I didn¡¯t expect. Along with that, his face was full of confidence, and his hands weren¡¯t shaking at all. This guy seems to be more experience than he looks. Unfortunately for him, he won¡¯t be able to handle the gun. During my time at Krystalis, after completely finishing my gun training with Jericho, he gave me a little present. On the last day, he gave me a modified version of the [HNTR] which was made by a well known gunsmith he knew. The gunsmith increased the firepower even further, which doubled the recoil. There was no possible way for me to fire it with one mark at that point, even with both hands. This forces me to use two marks whenever I equip it I doubt that this man could fire the gun effortlessly like I just did. My thoughts come true as soon as he pulls the trigger, and the recoil was so powerful that it actually caused his body to slide back. His arms flailed upwards, and an expression of shock filled his face. He missed the first shot as well, not even grazing a single one of the targets. ¡°What the hell is up with this gun!?¡± He yells, facing me. ¡°...custom made.¡± I tell him before wrenching it out of his hands. Again, I point it down the range, but I don¡¯t even aim this time and just fire three times. All three targets were destroyed yet again, each with a single shot to the head. ¡°.Oh wow, Birn got shown up just like that!¡± ¡°Damn girl, you go!¡± The onlookers began praising me while making fun of the clerk, whose face is now red in anger. ¡°Just get the hell out of here.¡± He snarls at us while gritting his teeth. ¡°What, can¡¯t handle the fact that¨C¡± I stop Thoth¡¯s taunt by putting my hand over her mouth and dragging her out of the room. I don¡¯t want to waste any more time here than needed, and if we angered him any further, he might¡¯ve just attacked us. I mean, we already crushed his pride and dignity, no need to take his life as well. Although Thoth complained about not having the chance to make fun of the clerk after leaving, her mood changes quickly as we walk around the guild building. When we¡¯ve finally had enough of walking around, we decided to leave the building. On the way out, something caught Thoth¡¯s interest. ¡°Hey, I saw a parfait shop outside the building before we entered, you want to go have some?¡± Thoth asked me. I nod in reply, and we both began walking towards the booth the fortune teller set up. Suddenly, I feel a massive wave of mana running through the whole building. Right after, the world around me changed greatly; the colors contrasting and the crowds of adventurers around me disappeared. There were few other people in this contrasted world, including Thoth. During this moment, I feel an extreme chill go through my body, and my limbs begin to freeze in place. It appears that someone, or some group, has trapped us in a separate dimension of our world that completely inverted it. Considering that our movements are also being forcefully sealed with [Ice Magic], they probably have hostile intentions against us. These people aren¡¯t hostile to Thoth and I specifically, but a few others as well, so they must¡¯ve just picked us based on a similar aspect we all have. The most likely one is strength; the people in this world may be stronger than average. I can¡¯t tell what their goal is, but if I had to guess, it¡¯s to prevent us from joining the subjugation for whatever reason they had. How unlucky of them to have captured me in this world as well, though. I react by using [Spatial Magic] to forcefully tear apart the contrasting world, destroying it and freeing everyone trapped in it. My vision returns to normal immediately, and I activate [Enhanced Detection] upon being freed. I couldn¡¯t find the culprit, but I noticed that a large majority of other adventurers were still acting the same. It seems that only the people who were inside the world knew what happened. The few others that went through this were also looking around for the perpetrator. Thoth was muttering to herself though, with a serious expression on her face. ¡°A sort of scouting spell? No, that spell was targeted to a specific group. The caster tried to entrap us in a contrasting world and lock us in place. Though it¡¯s unknown what their intentions are, considering that they didn¡¯t try to communicate with us before hand, this was likely an attempt to kidnap or eliminate us for whatever reason they have.¡± Despite being a bit of an airhead, Thoth has also identified the situation quickly as well. ¡°A similarity between the people captured¡­ maybe their strength? The abilities of the other people captured are unknown as well, but assuming that they¡¯re also powerful adventurers, then that only means¡­¡± It looks like she¡¯s about to reach my conclusion. ¡°...he wanted us to meet each other in a parallel world and become friends!¡± ¡°Wrong.¡± I instantly say as I smack her head. Well, this should¡¯ve been expected considering who Thoth is, but a conclusion like that was just way too stupid. She rubs the back of her head while sticking her tongue out playfully, which makes me think that she doesn¡¯t even realize how dumb that last line sounded. I sigh to myself, before I state a single word that makes up my conclusion; ¡°...enemy.¡± I declared. ¡°Oh~ that makes more sense.¡± Thoth says with a look of realization. ¡°Okay then! What do you want to do about them?¡± ¡°...nothing yet.¡± I tell her. We had no leads whatsoever, so we¡¯d be chasing a ghost. ¡°We¡¯ll go with that for now, but I don¡¯t want to let this person go like that. If they¡¯re an enemy, then I¡¯d prefer to have them dead now rather than have them cause problems later on. Can we at least find these people before the expedition starts?¡± ¡°,,,fine.¡± I agree with her thoughts. We don¡¯t know if the perpetrator is a single person, or a group, but they¡¯ll most likely hinder us in the future if we let them free. It¡¯d be faster to just kill them and move on. With the exception of Ash¡¯s group, I don¡¯t tolerate hostile acts against me. The only reason why I let them live was because I had gotten soft, was attempting to avoid conflict and trying to lay low. This time, I don¡¯t really feel the need to do either of that, so if there is someone out there who wants to be my enemy, then they shall die by my hands. ¡°Ah, that spoiled the mood for ice cream¡­ you want to go training for a bit?¡± I nod in reply. ¡°Then let¡¯s go find an open place outside the town. I want to go a bit wild.¡± ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Third Person Perspective: Two days after Aria¡¯s departure, a certain event occurred in the castle of Atalin. In a certain room inside the castle, stood five people in total. In the center of the room, was a large summoning circle carved into the ground. ¡°Dear, you¡¯re sure it''s complete, right? Nothing¡¯s going to backfire?¡± A tall woman with sky blue hair asks with a worried tone in her voice. ¡°I¡¯ve been researching this for a long time, but I haven¡¯t been able to test it until now. We just have to take the risk and hope for the best.¡± Her husband answers. ¡°Hana, don¡¯t worry. Kieran¡¯s the smartest we¡¯ve got here in the kingdom. I¡¯m sure his research will bear fruit, and this experiment will turn out as a success.¡± A man wearing a purple mantle and a crown tries to reassure the woman. ¡°That¡¯s right, Miss Hana. I¡¯m sure Mister Kieran will be able to complete the summoning without fail.¡± A boy with snow white hair adds. He stood there alongside his sister, who remains quiet by his side. ¡°Thanks for the faith you all have in me, but this is still a first attempt. The risk of failing is at it¡¯s highest.¡± Kieran tells them. ¡°Okay, everything is set up. I¡¯ve carved all the runes I believe is necessary for the summoning, so all that¡¯s needed is to insert mana. Ash, Raina, Hana, start when I give the signal, okay? Your majesty, please observe a bit farther away. There¡¯s a chance of this backfiring destructively, so I want to minimize the risk of you getting injured.¡± Kieran gives commands to the other four people in the room, and they all comply. ¡°On my count, we¡¯ll all start pouring mana in. Three, two, one, go!¡± As soon as he finishes the countdown, all four people surrounding the summoning circle pour in large amounts of mana. The circle starts lighting up dimly, slowly getting brighter and brighter. After a while, the glowing light in the circle starts converting itself into visible magic particles. The particles starts spiralling within the radius of the circle, getting faster and faster. Finally, a flash of light completely fills the room, and a shockwave of heat blasts the four people away from the circle. ¡°Was it a failure?¡± Kieran mutters as the light begins to fade. ¡°No, there¡¯s something in the middle.¡± Hana says, able to make out a figure in the center of the circle. The light finally fades away completely, and they¡¯re able to see what was summoned exactly. ¡°What the¡­ where the heck am I!? Where did everyone else go!?¡± A young boy with short black hair and an average build stood in the center of the circle. ¡°Kieran, I knew you had it in you.¡± The king praised. ¡°Ah, honestly, I didn¡¯t expect this to even work. It was a first try, after all.¡± Kieran states modestly. Though it was true that he didn¡¯t expect it to work at all on the first try. ¡°Well, first off, let¡¯s fill in our guest about the situation he¡¯s in, shall we?¡± ¡°Okay, Ash, greet our guest, will you?¡± Ash complies with Kieran¡¯s command, and walks up to the boy. The young boy was cautious at first, but upon hearing Ash¡¯s next words, his eyes lit up brightly. ¡°Welcome, Hero, to the world of Sykerion.¡± V2 Chapter 5: The Strange Day in Belsburg Unedited
Chapter 5: The Strange Day in Belsburg Early in the morning, I enter the tavern with Thoth, and we find Jinada¡¯s group waiting in there for us. They were sitting at the same table as yesterday, eating breakfast. When Jinada notices us, he smiles and waves at us to come over. The others had confused expressions on their faces, though. ¡°Um, Aria, why do you have that¡­ thing on your back?¡± Morne asks me. ¡°Is that supposed to be a weapon?¡± Pyre asks. The ¡®thing¡¯ they are asking about is the object wrapped in cloth on my back. ¡°Don¡¯t bother asking. Apparently it¡¯s a ¡®secret.¡¯¡± Thoth says while pouting. She was in a bit of a bad mood because of the answer I gave her when she asked about it earlier. ¡°A secret? Well, I suppose someone like Aria would have many of them.¡± Evalot says. ¡°She has a ton of secrets, but this is the first one she¡¯s kept from me!¡± Thoth cries out. ¡°IT must be something extremely important or amazing, if she¡¯s actually keeping it from you.¡± Mira responds. ¡°Gah! Now I really want to know what¡¯s inside!¡± She yells desperately. ¡°Anyway, what did you two do yesterday?¡± Morne asks me, ignoring Thoth. ¡°...touring.¡± I reply. ¡°Oh, where did you go?¡± He asks another question, trying to make conversation. ¡°...many places.¡± I answer. Unfortunately, holding a conversation with me was a difficult feat. For a few seconds, we just stared at each other in silence. Instantly, he gives up on trying to talk to me. ¡°...Thoth, how do you ever hold a conversation with her?¡± He turns to ask her. ¡°How? It¡¯s really easy, you know? She¡¯s a really good listener, and doesn¡¯t interrupt me whenever I speak. She always understands me and never asks questions, so it¡¯s always nice and easy to talk with her, you know?¡± Thoth answers naturally. ¡°No, I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s not easy at all.¡± Morne immediately replies. ¡°Then you have a problem in your head that needs to be fixed.¡± ¡°What was that!?¡± Forgetting about me, they start arguing between each other. ¡°If I guess what the object is, will you tell me if it¡¯s right?¡± Jinada approaches me, asking about the object as well. I shake my head in response to this, because I wanted to keep it as a little surprise for Thoth later. The reason why this object isn¡¯t in the [Spatial Pocket] right now is because of its properties. The [Spatial Pocket] is similar to a giant bag, where everything thrown in there is just mashed in one large pile of objects. Certain items had to be disassembled before thrown in, others wrapped in cloth or put into cases and boxes. Otherwise, the items within the [Spatial Pocket] will be damaged. Due to this, I¡¯m unable to just pull out any weapons I need during a battle; I had to prepare them beforehand. I have to set them up beforehand, and carry it around like I am now. ¡°I¡¯ll stop asking about it then. On the other hand, I¡¯m curious about what your class is. Do you mind telling me?¡± His eyes were sparkling as he asks this, but unfortunately, I don¡¯t give him the answer he wants. ¡°...yes.¡± I have four different classes, and I don¡¯t feel like explaining how I got them, nor do I want to deal with his reaction after hearing them. ¡°Oh, you do mind¡­ sorry for asking then.¡± A saddened expression appears on his face, but it doesn¡¯t change my answer. Although Thoth and Morne were arguing with each other, the table was quite peaceful. During this, I order food for myself by pointing at the first thing I saw on the menu. As I ate quietly at the table, everyone else interacted with each other and created a light atmosphere. ¡°...Jinada, it¡¯s time to go.¡± Cam suddenly speaks out. Everyone has finished eating by now, and the clock set up above the door to the tavern pointed at 9:00. ¡°Oh, I nearly forgot. Thanks for reminding me, Cam. Ms. Evalot, where were we supposed to meet with the others?¡± Standing up from the table, Jinada prepares to leave. ¡°We¡¯re to gather at the [Adventurer¡¯s Guild] today, so that we can receive some subjugation quests during our expedition.¡± She answers. ¡°You guys are going on a dungeon expedition before the dragon subjugation?¡± Thoth asks. ¡°Only a short one, about ten days. We¡¯re going to one of the highest ranked dungeons in [Sykerion], the [Skybound Earth]. We¡¯ll be training there with some other teams from the Royal Army.¡± Morne answers. ¡°Woah, that sounds so fun! Can we come along!?¡± Unexpectedly, Thoth requested for permission to go to the dungeon with them. I can understand why though; this dungeon is known as the hardest one, and we haven¡¯t been there yet. We were already planning on exploring a nearby dungeon, but this one might actually entertain us. It also may give me a chance to try out my little toy I¡¯m bringing along. ¡°Are you sure about that? I mean, there won¡¯t be any guarantee for your survival. It might be better for you two to remain hunting around here.¡± Jinada suggests. ¡°Boring.¡± I instantly reply, surprising them. It was literally the first time I¡¯ve spoken to them, so I can understand why. ¡°And there you have it! Just like she said, it¡¯s too boring. Just let us come along, please, pretty please?¡± Thoth puts on her puppy eyes, which caused Jinada to hesitate for a second. ¡°Ms. Evalot, what do you think? Should we allow them to come?¡± Unable to answer it, he turns to his advisor. ¡°Like I said, you¡¯ll be responsible for them. You can take them along if you¡¯d like, but prioritize their safety.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an [S-Ranked Dungeon] we¡¯re headed to, kids like you two might hold us back, you know?¡± Pyre taunts. ¡°Well, I¡¯m quite confident that I can survive on my own, and Aria¡¯s already an [S-Ranked] adventurer. But if you¡¯re scared of dying, I¡¯ll gladly hold your hand for you.¡± Even though there¡¯s a smile on her face, Thoth replied with a rude tone of a voice. It seems like another fight is going to start. ¡°Yeah, walk into the field with that attitude, and you¡¯d die in a second.¡± ¡°You got a problem with it, brat?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the older one here, genius. Maybe you should get your eyes checked, before you go challenging the mountain instead of the dragon.¡± ¡°Maybe I should challenge you right here and now?¡± ¡°I¡¯d gladly take that offer.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go, one on one, right now!¡± ¡°Come at me then!¡± Just as they were about to lunge at each other, the temperature around us suddenly dropped. The source of this was the advisor of the team, Evalot, and it was able to stop Thoth and Pyre. ¡°Start a fight now, I¡¯ll kill you both. Understood?¡± Surprisingly, both Thoth and Pyre immediately nodded their heads in response. It looks like Evalot is capable of keeping Thoth in line, which is something I¡¯ve never seen before. ¡°Well then, it seems like we¡¯re all active and ready to go. Let¡¯s be on our way now, shall we?¡± As if nothing just happened, Jinada casually leaves the tavern. As everyone else went with him, I stayed behind a bit to do something they forgot. I had to pay the bill. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°It seems like we¡¯re the last group to arrive.¡± Jinada says as soon as we enter the [Guild Office]. There was a large crowd of people in the lobby, all of different classes, but their one similarity was that they had the same emblems. These people are also [Arcadian Knights]. Some of them turns to the elevator as they hear the doors open, and sees our group enter the lobby. Several different males came up to greet Jinada, but upon seeing Thoth and I, they start glaring daggers at him. ¡°Seriously? Two more in your harem?¡± ¡°Why are you getting all the hot chicks?!¡± ¡°Hell, they don¡¯t even look that old! You turning into a pedophile now or something!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that, you guys. These two are just acquaintances that have special permission to partake in the expedition. I¡¯m only with them to guarantee their safety.¡± He tries to explain, but it doesn¡¯t seem to work. ¡°Hah! The only protection they need is from a freaking playboy like you!¡± One of them shouts in reply ¡°Can you guys shut up already? The advisors are going to hear us and give us more work for causing such a ruckus in here.¡± A powerful voice calls out from the crowd of knights inside the lobby. ¡°If that happens, I¡¯ll beat down every single of you.¡± A woman forces her way out of the crowd and approaches us with a scowl on her face.. She wore light chainmail armor, and her weapon seems to be her gauntlets, seeing the condition they were in. The woman was actually quite tall, possibly as tall as my mother, which gave her an intimidating presence. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am! We¡¯ll be quiet right away!¡± The men immediately listens to her, and quickly went away. She must either be an important figure, or a really strong warrior to have them fear her like that. Suddenly, she turns to face us, and the scowl on her face disappears, replaced with a casual smile. ¡°Yo Jinada! Your group is the last to get here, just like always!¡± Acting as if the previous scene didn¡¯t just occur, the woman greeted Jinada. ¡°It¡¯s called being punctual, Abigail. You¡¯re all just too excited because it¡¯s the first expedition we¡¯ve gone on in a while. Besides, it¡¯s not really a race to see who gets here the fastest.¡± He replies with a sigh. ¡°Wow, nice excuse, loser. I bet you just spent too much time talking with these two beauties and forgot about the time.¡± With a smirk on her face, the woman named Abigail teases Jinada. ¡°You¡¯d wish. One of them¡¯s a taciturn and the other¡¯s too hostile.¡± He replies with a laugh. ¡°...yeah, I¡¯m going to hang out with Marilee and the others, catch you later.¡± Pyre says before walking away. I don¡¯t know why, but she sounded a bit irritated as she said that, as if Abigail¡¯s presence annoyed her somehow. ¡°My friends are calling¡­¡± Cam mutters with a barely audible voice before leaving as well. Although this may seem a bit rude, I didn¡¯t think she had friends outside of this group. Mira left the group as well, walking away quietly without anyone except me noticing. ¡°Well, this just got a bit awkward. I¡¯ll leave you two alone, and go hang out with the other guys.¡± Even Morne left, leaving only Thoth and I to remain here with Jinada and Abigail. ¡°Well, that¡¯s unexpected. Sorry about scaring them off, Jinada.¡± Abigail apologizes. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t even know why they dislike you so much.¡± He replies. So, are you going to introduce me to these adorable girls or what?¡± She asks him. ¡°Ah, yeah. This is Thoth, an [A-Ranked] adventurer, and this is Aria, an [S-Ranked] adventurer. I met them at the [Guild Building] in [Forlin], and it seems like they¡¯ll be participating in the subjugation as well.¡± Jinada explains to her. ¡°Wait, seriously!? These two are adventurers!? Not only that, but they¡¯re in the upper ranks!? They don¡¯t even look 15 years old yet!¡± Abigail yells out in astonishment. ¡°That¡¯s right. Our skill and abilities only rival one another, and we¡¯ll become the first [God Tier] humans before any of you realize it!¡± Thoth boasts with full confidence. Could she be considered a human? She was the Demon Lord in her previous life, after all. ¡°Yeah, yeah, but right now, the both of you are only little children, so be sure to respect your seniors, okay?¡± Abigail responds while starting to pat our heads. ¡°Don¡¯t treat me like a kid!¡± Thoth exclaims, swiping at her arm. ¡°Chance!¡± Unexpectedly, Abigail dodges it and swiftly gets behind Thoth. She then traps Thoth in a bear hug, causing her to let out an adorable cry. ¡°Eek! What are you doing!? Let go of me, pervert! Let go!¡± Yelling hysterically, Thoth struggles in Abigail¡¯s arms. I was surprised to see that Thoth wasn¡¯t able to break out of her hold. Her strength must be insanely high. ¡°No way, you¡¯re so adorable!¡± Disregarding Thoth¡¯s complaints, Abigail starts to cuddle her. I don¡¯t know why, but this action is annoying me greatly. ¡°Um, Aria, you¡¯re releasing a bit too much bloodlust. It¡¯s a bit scary.¡± Jinada whispers to me. Before I noticed it, my fists were clenched tightly and shaking. I take a deep breath, and calm myself down. There¡¯s no reason for me to be mad, it¡¯s just normal skinship between girls. It¡¯s fine. All fine. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°I wonder if you¡¯re ticklish¡­ hehehe!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare! Stop it! I swear I¡¯ll kill you! ¡°Let. Go.¡± Releasing my [Aura of the Heartless], I instantly move to the position behind Abigail and grab her shoulder tightly with an extremely tight grip. Now this woman was getting too personal with Thoth. I didn¡¯t like that at all. Several other knights nearby suddenly fell on their knees, and it was clear that they were now having trouble breathing. Yet, this woman was still able to remain standing without any sign of being pressured from my aura or bloodlust. In fact, she now had a smirk on her face as she turns her head to look at me. She was on a completely different level compared to the rest of these knights. ¡°Oh~ so that¡¯s how it is~¡± She says as she turns to me. Right after, she lets go of Thoth, and I let go of her shoulder. I stop releasing my aura and bloodlust, heading to Thoth¡¯s side immediately afterwards. ¡°...you okay?¡± I ask. ¡°It¡¯s fine, no serious damage done. Except to my pride.¡± She responds with a glare towards the culprit, who was whistling off to the side. ¡°I¡¯m sincerely sorry about what Abigail just did!¡± Jinada apologizes. ¡°She¡¯s just a bit fond of anything¡­ cute and adorable.¡± ¡°Yeah, well I don¡¯t want her doing that again, no matter how cute or adorable I may seem to her.¡± Thoth replies with a hostile tone in her voice. ¡°Sorry, cutie, not going to happen. In fact, I want to play with both you, and your friend together. But we¡¯ll save that for a later date, okay?¡± Abigail replies playfully with a wink. ¡°That¡¯s enough, Abigail. You¡¯re not making a good first impression here.¡± Jinada warns. ¡°What a spoilsport¡­¡± She grumbles quietly. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°I asked if your team was prepared for this expedition¡± As if the nothing just happened, she casually changes the subject. Jinada sighs to himself before answering her. ¡°Yeah, we need to replenish our supplies. Our team has been too busy completing minor quests and missions to get some money, because we were dead broke by the time we returned from [Haile].¡± ¡°Well, I think we¡¯ll be given free time to roam around the building after the advisors are done discussing the agenda, so you¡¯ll have time to buy what you need.¡± ¡°Speaking of which, will we be taking any quests for this expedition?¡± Thoth says. ¡°That¡¯s right. Ms. Evalot will give Jinada a list of quests that the advisors selected, and then he¡¯ll enter the quest room to receive them. The both of you aren¡¯t in his party, so you¡¯ll have to accept them separately.¡± Abigail says. ¡°Huh? Why would it matter whether I¡¯m in his party or not?¡± Thoth asks. ¡°...are you sure you graduated from an [Adventurer¡¯s School]? Do you not know the most basic of knowledge about the [Party System]? Did you like, completely ace the physical part and completely failed the written one?¡± Nice wild guess. ¡°Woah! How did you know!?¡± As soon as she heard Thoth¡¯s answer, Abigail immediately covered her face in her palm, clearly showing her disappointment. ¡°Can¡¯t be helped then, looks like I¡¯ll have to explain it. If a party is formed between three or more adventurers, any quests the party leader receives can be shared with the rest of the party. So if you¡¯re part of Jinada¡¯s party, then any quests that Jinada receives will also be given to you.¡± She explains diligently. ¡°Oh~ I get it now! That¡¯s so convenient!¡± I sigh to myself, wondering if this extreme airhead truly was the demon lord I fought before. ¡°Okay! Aria, we¡¯ll make a party between-!¡± ¡°No.¡± I cut her words off immediately, declining Thoth before she even finishes. ¡°Instant rejection!?¡± She says with a shocked face. ¡°Of course you fool, parties can only be formed with at least three people.¡± Abigail tells her. ¡°In that case, Jinada, add Aria and I to your-¡± ¡°Nope.¡± Doing the same thing I did, Jinada cut her words off before she even finishes. ¡°Instant rejection again!?¡± Again, a shocked expression appears on her face. She must¡¯ve been extremely surprised that she was turned down so quickly twice in a row. ¡°Because the experience gain will start reducing if we add you.¡± Jinada quickly adds. ¡°Huh? Why¡¯s that?¡± Face, meet palm. ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead and explain it this time.¡± Jinada says, before Abigail could start another fight. ¡°Thoth, a party can only allow five adventurers together while maintaining the normal experience rate. When a sixth person joins, the rate drops by starting to divide the experience by the number of adventurers in total within the party. For example, a party of six would have the experience divided by six for every adventurer. A party of nine would split it by nine, do you get it?¡± He explains. ¡°...are you kidding me? What kind of stupid system is that? That sounds so dumb that I would love to beat down the creator of this thing.¡± Thoth says, voicing her thoughts. ¡°How about you try asking the [System]? It¡¯ll probably give you the answer.¡± Abigail suggests randomly. Obviously, this was a joke. I don¡¯t even think Thoth is dumb enough to believe that. ¡°There¡¯s a way to talk to the [System]!?¡± I take it back. She is dumb enough. ¡°Yeah, all you do is look at the sky and yell at it.¡± Silence filled the air between us upon hearing her answer. ¡°I¡¯m lazy, not stupid. You think I¡¯m actually going to try that!?¡± Thank god she had common sense at the very least. ¡°Sorry, I couldn¡¯t resist. But you should try anyway.¡± Abigail chuckles as she says this. ¡°So Aria, did this girl sleep through every lesson or what? She seems really gullible.¡± Jinada asks. ¡°...probably.¡± I answered. ¡°Hey! Only half the time!¡± It seems like Thoth overheard us, and replies with a serious answer. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be doing it at all!¡± Abigail retorts. ¡°What, you expect me to listen to old people talking about unnecessary things for an hour straight?¡± Crossing her arms, Thoth states something dumb as if it was completely natural. ¡°Yes. That¡¯s exactly what you¡¯re supposed to be doing. It¡¯s the job of a student.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad I graduated. That sounds like a terrible job to have.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t say that when you didn¡¯t even do it properly.¡± They continue throw lines back and forth at each other, completely forgetting about Jinada and I. ¡°Looks like they¡¯re getting along fine, huh, Aria?¡± Jinada says to me. ¡°...yeah.¡± I agreed. ¡°Well, isn¡¯t this a surprising scene. You two seem to be getting along well, Thoth, Abigail.¡± Suddenly, Ms. Evalot appears without anyone realizing it, but no one showed any signs of surprise. ¡°Of course we¡¯d get along! We¡¯re pretty alike, in my opinion.¡± She says while rubbing Thoth¡¯s head. ¡°No, we¡¯re nothing alike, and I said stop treating me like a kid!¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re a kid in my eyes until you prove me wrong!¡± ¡°Ms. Evalot, I assume you and the other advisors have the expedition completely planned out?¡± Jinada asks her, while the other two start bickering between each other again. ¡°Yes. We¡¯ll be hunting for a majority of the time to fulfill four different quests we¡¯ve received, and then gather natural resources generated in the dungeon for two others. Here¡¯re the list of quests we¡¯ve selected, bring Aria and Thoth with you to the [Main Room].¡± Ms. Evalot says to him while handing him a small sheet of paper. ¡°Understood. Abigail, stop fooling around with Thoth, I¡¯m going to bring her and Aria to the [Main Room] to accept some quests.¡± Jinada immediately says to her. ¡°Aww, but it was getting fun.¡± She complains. ¡°I swear, I¡¯ll freaking pay you back for this one day.¡± Thoth threatens. ¡°Heh, maybe in a year or two, you¡¯ll give me a decent challenge, right?¡± Abigail replies with a taunting smile. ¡°Well, you three go get your quests. I need to go help resupply some of our gems and materials before setting off.¡± ¡°Okay then, Abigail. See you in a few hours at the gate.¡± ¡°Ah, just before I go, I need to do one thing!¡± With high speed, she suddenly appears in front of Thoth. Caught off guard, Thoth wasn¡¯t able to react and before any of us knew it, Abigail planted a light kiss on her cheek before dashing back. ¡°A little parting gift for you! I¡¯ll give you one too some other day, Aria. See you all later~!¡± In an instant, she bursts out the doors of the [Guild Office] and disappears into the crowd. ¡°...this freaking bi¨C¡± ¡°I¡¯ll kill her.¡± I say aloud, surprising everyone. ¡°Um¡­ Aria, you don¡¯t have to be so mad for me. I¡¯m the one who¡¯s supposed to get angry, ya know?¡± Thoth says to me. ¡°I¡¯ll slaughter her.¡± ¡°It became even more brutal!?¡± ¡°Her bloodlust is making it hard to breathe again¡­¡± Jinada comments. ¡°I¡¯ll mutilate her.¡± ¡°She made it even worse!?¡± ¡°Aria, I can¡¯t breathe¡­ please¡­ calm down!¡± ¡°Aria, you can calm down now, you don¡¯t have to be so mad, you know? It kinda makes me a bit happy that you care, but I think this is a bit too much.¡± Thoth speaks to me, trying to calm me down, and it worked. Upon hearing her voice, I started taking deep breaths and tried to contain the bloodlust I was releasing, before I completely returned to normal. ¡°Hah¡­ hah¡­ thank you for calming her, Thoth¡­¡± Jinada says while wheezing. Every knight inside the [Guild Office] were also gasping for breath, but the advisors were able to remain standing under the pressure. Some of them were astonished at what they just witnessed, their expressions showing it clearly. ¡°It seems like I have some explaining to do. Jinada, go take Thoth and Aria to the pylon room and receive the quests. I¡¯ll need you to go resupply our gem stock as well, we¡¯ll meet at the entrance when the expedition starts.¡± Ms. Evalot orders. ¡°Understood. Aria, Thoth, let¡¯s get going.¡± He says, and immediately heads to the [Main Room] with us following close behind. ¡°That was some serious bloodlust though, Aria. I didn¡¯t expect you to get so angry for me. Heck, I didn¡¯t even know you could express your emotions that much.¡± Thoth says. ¡°...sorry for that¡­¡± I apologize. ¡°What¡¯re you apologizing for? It makes me happy that you broke your expressionless behaviour for me.¡± She gives me a bright smile as she says this. Although she¡¯s a complete airhead and an idiot, Thoth was really kind. ¡°...damn.¡± Jinada suddenly mutters. ¡°Hm? Is there a problem?¡± Thoth asks. ¡°Thoth¡­ I¡¯m sorry about this¡­¡± He says with a grave expression on his face. ¡°Wait, what? What¡¯s going on, is there something wrong?¡± Confused about Jinada¡¯s words, Thoth¡¯s voice now held a tone of worry. ¡°Thoth¡­ five out of six of the quests on this list¡­ is limited only to [S-Rank].¡±
Hello, Yubi here. I¡¯m guessing that most of you are like: ¡°WHERE DID YOU GO FOR TWO MONTHS?! ASDKFJEWOIAJF¡± because I did disappear for a long time. I sincerely apologize about that, but the fact was that I was hospitalized for quite a while, and couldn¡¯t get back to writing until recently. Although there isn¡¯t really anything I can do to make up for lost time on the story, I¡¯ll just continue writing like normal and posting like normal, but I really am sorry for just leaving the story hanging like this. Let¡¯s hope I can get this back on track, and keep updating this fiction of mine, and hopefully have no bad incidents happening to me. I¡¯d like to thank you guys for reading though, and yeah. I hope you continue enjoying to read this fiction of mine. :) P.S. Side Story for the ¡®Summoned Hero¡¯ will be coming up next. I apologize to those who wanted to continue reading from this last scene. P.P.S. As usual, I''ll take any criticism, so be sure to leave productive comments. I''d appreciate it. Thanks! P.P.P.S. Sorry for no action descriptive battle scene, next chapter though! ;) V2 Side Story 1: The Summoned Hero Unedited
Side Story 1: The ¡®Summoned Hero¡¯ When I was a kid, my parents were met with a tragic accident. Ever since then, my life has been met with misfortune. My relatives abandoned me, my former friends began ignoring me, and I was given looks of disdain by other people in the orphanage I was taken to. For a majority of my life, I have been shunned by others, and I was only able to find comfort three things: manga, anime and video games. I really like those stories where the MC is brought to another world as a hero, and trains to defeat the demon lord. They¡¯re given unique abilities that causes them to be completely overpowering, and defeat the demon lord easily at the end. But most importantly; they were always popular. All the ladies would fall for them. Those were my favorite stories. It was something I wanted to experience myself, but never expected to happen. And here I am, inside a grand guest room provided by the people who summoned me to become their [Hero]. ¡°Good morning Chris, it¡¯s Ash and Raina. May we come in?¡± A voice calls out to me right outside the door. ¡°Ah, yeah! Go ahead!¡± I reply as I sit up on my bed. A boy entered the room shortly afterwards, followed along by his little sister. They both had snow white hair and wore matching clothes, but their eye colors were different. The brother was quite tall, and looked like one of those cold, distant bishoujos from some of the manga I read. The girl looked as if she just hit 14 years old, but she had a distant aura around her. These two took part in summoning me, and the boy was the first one to greet me. ¡°So, how¡¯re you feeling? It must be hard to process everything we told you.¡± The boy name Ash spoke first, asking about my condition. Yesterday, they gave me several explanations about where I was summoned to. Rather than being summoned into another world, I was brought into another ¡®dimension¡¯ altogether that linked several worlds together. Apparently, my world wasn¡¯t part of this dimension because I wouldn¡¯t have been summoned otherwise. In this dimension, each world had their own individual [System] that can allows citizens of their worlds to have video-game like properties. In a majority of these worlds, an organization called the [Adventurer¡¯s Guild] has established themselves in them. They explain what the guild does, and how the tiers and ranking words in it. They also talk about the different races that exists in this dimension, and about [Dungeon Worlds]. ¡°Honestly, I was already expecting to hear about half the things you told me about.¡± I admitted. This world was much different than from the games I¡¯ve played and the manga I read. ¡°Is that so? I¡¯m quite thankful that you didn¡¯t panic in that kind of situation. After all, you were summoned into an unknown place surrounded by five strange people.¡± He says to me. ¡°Well, let¡¯s say that I¡¯ve read too many ¡®fantasy novels¡¯ that have plots similar to this, which allowed me to calm down after realizing what happened.¡± I said ¡®fantasy novels,¡¯ but really, it was just manga. ¡°If that¡¯s your reason for keeping your calm in such a situation, then I won¡¯t question it. Just remember to keep the fact that you were summoned a secret.¡± I nod in response to this. During the explanation I was given yesterday, I was also told to keep my summoning hidden. Apparently, if it got out that the Humans were successful in summoning a person from another dimension, then other ambitious kingdoms, organizations and perhaps even other races would also attempt to do so. To avoid this, they gave me an alias. My name remained the same, but I was came from a small village in the edge of the country and came to the capital to become an adventurer. I supposedly attract Ash¡¯s attention during an expedition he took part of outside the city, and he decided to take me as a disciple. I was brought back to the castle to undergo personal training by him, and obtained special permission from the king himself for to right to roam the castle freely. ¡°So why did you guys summon me anyway? Is there a [Demon Lord] that needs to be killed or something?¡± There¡¯s gotta be some sort of danger for them to need to summon a hero. ¡°We received a certain¡­ ¡®prophecy¡¯ from a reliable source, and it said that we would require a person of strength beyond gods to defeat a powerful force that plans to destroy [Sykerion] in approximately two years, maybe less. It¡¯s unknown what exactly this force is, but our king did not want to take any chances, and therefore, decided to summon you.¡± Ash explains to me. ¡°And you couldn¡¯t just find a really strong person to take up this job?¡± I ask. ¡°Not at all. First, we can¡¯t trust the other races due to the chance that they may be the force that tries to destroy our world. Second, There are currently no known humans who have reached the [God-Tier], or anyone who would pledge to help our world for that matter. Third, we can¡¯t afford to cultivate someone personally because we¡¯re afraid that one year won¡¯t be enough time. We¡¯re riding our hopes on the fact that you can become powerful in a short amount of time, Chris.¡± They must¡¯ve been real desperate if they had to resort to this. There was no guarantee that would summon someone who fulfilled their requirements. Heck, do I even qualify? ¡°How do you guys know whether or not I meet your expectations? What if I¡¯m just a normal boy with no special perks at all?¡± ¡°Well, the easy way to do that is to get someone to use a skill called [Analyze], which allows us to examine your [Status]. By the way, why don¡¯t you check it out now?¡± He suggests. ¡°You still haven¡¯t told me how to do that yet.¡± I remind him. ¡°Oh, sorry. Just recite it in your head and a blue ethereal screen should appear in front of you that only you can see.¡± He explains to me. I do as he says, and sure enough, a status screen appears. Strangely though, instead of it being blue like Ash said, the screen was colored red. But I forget about that as I look at the ethereal screen in front of me. [table=red]NameChristopher RidenAge17 Years OldGenderMaleTitles[Hero] [Natural Grinder]Classes[None]Level1Health1,160Mana2,035Strength42Agility38Intelligence77[/table] I was surprised to see that there were only three main stats displayed other than health and mana. There was nothing like charisma, luck or any of that displayed on the screen. ¡°Why are there only three main stats?¡± I ask Ash. ¡°Hm? Isn¡¯t it natural there¡¯s only three? Is there supposed to be more?¡± He replies with a natural tone. Right, they grew up with the [System] like this, so of course it would be natural for them that there¡¯s only the three of these. ¡°Well, the thing is; in the dimension came from, we had something called RPGs¡­¡± I explain to Ash about RPG¡¯s in my world, and how their stat system works. ¡°So these games also have stats outside of our main three. Some of them sound quite silly, in my opinion.¡± He responds unexpectedly. ¡°How can one¡¯s charisma or leadership be put as a numerical value? A person¡¯s appearance is based on another¡¯s preferences, and a person¡¯s ability to command is based on his knowledge on war tactics and the battlefield. Though I can understand the uses of a stat such as dexterity for people with non-combat classes, but the [System] has not recognized it to be a proper stat that can be numerically valued. At least, that¡¯s the only thing I can assume.¡± Ash states his honest opinion in reply to my explanations. I guess it kind of makes sense, because it¡¯s still real life. Everyone has a different perspective on who¡¯s charismatic, or who¡¯s a good leader. ¡°By the way, what are your starting stats right now? You should be level one, right?¡± I nod in reply before telling him my stats. ¡°I have 42 in [Strength], 38 in [Agility] and 77 in [Intelligence].¡± Ash¡¯s face is filled with shock upon hearing this. ¡°Are these stats amazing?¡± ¡°Amazing? That¡¯s beyond amazing! Your total stat points amount to over 150, despite being at level 1! A normal person would only have around 30 to 40 points total. Even prodigies and geniuses would have around 50 to 70.¡± He says with awe in his voice. So I was basically over twice as strong as a normal ¡®prodigy¡¯ of this world. ¡°I can only imagine how your stats will turn out when you finally obtain a class.¡± Ash adds afterwards. ¡°How does that work, anyway? Do you have to complete a set of quests, fulfill any conditions or just pick it whenever?¡± I didn¡¯t know how this kind of thing worked, so I just thought of all the methods that were used in mangas and video games. ¡°There are two ways to do so, both which you just inquired. The first is an artificial way developed by the [Adventurer¡¯s Guild], where you can pick your classes. This is the most common way to select the class, because you don¡¯t really need to complete any conditions to receive one. The other way is to fulfill certain conditions before the [System] grants it to you. More rare classes can be found through this method, and the guild has not found a way to artificially integrate these classes to be selectable.¡± He tells me. ¡°What about the amount of classes someone can have? Is everyone restricted to a single class that can become more powerful and branch out, or can they select multiple classes?¡± ¡°Actually, both are a possibility. Someone can select a simple [Swordsman] class and eventually branch into a [Knight] or [Duelist]. It is possible to have multiple classes, but the limit is unknown. Only your first class can be selected, while the rest is obtained through training. For example, if you¡¯re a [Swordsman] and you start to practice magic to a certain amount, you can also become a [Mage]. Sometimes, if you obtain two classes and they¡¯re compatible, then they will mix into a hybrid class. Using the earlier example, a person with both a [Swordsman] and a [Mage] class will have the both of them mix and turn into [Magic Swordsman].¡± Ash explains. ¡°Wow that sounds cool. But it would be better to focus on few classes, or else you¡¯ll just become a jack-of-all-trades, right?¡± I mean, having someone who is average in magic and physical combat won¡¯t do much against a person who¡¯s extremely strong in one of those two aspects. ¡°Yes, rather than just having multiple classes and hoping some of them will mix into hybrids, sometimes it¡¯s better to stick to one or two classes and focus on them. A hybrid class doesn¡¯t necessarily mean it¡¯s the best. That¡¯s a good way of thinking, as expected of the one who was summoned as the [Hero].¡± The sudden praise caught me off guard, but it felt kind of nice to hear it. ¡°I want to check the skills list to see if I started any. Is it the same way as opening my [Status]?¡± I ask. He nods in reply, and I recite [Skills] in my head. Again, a red table appears in front of me. [table=red]SkillsFantasy Barrier [Level 1] Enchanted Attack [Level 1] Final Stand [Level 1] Sound Step [Level 1] Heightened Reactions ]Level 1] Beastly Instincts [Level 1] Arch-Mind [Level 1][/table] ¡°Just like I thought, I already have a bunch of skills.¡± I think aloud. ¡°Must be the side effect of being a [Summoned Hero]. Most people do not start with any skills at level one, so you¡¯re definitely an exceptional person.¡± Ash comments. ¡°I¡¯m going to assume that these skill levels are the same as my proficiency with them. Is that right?¡± I ask. ¡°It depends on the type of skill it is, because some are more generalized while others are more specific. For example, one of my skills is [Fire Magic], which is basically the ability to create flames with mana and manipulate them. The higher the skill level is, the more freely I can manipulate fire. These kinds of skills are easy to obtain, but harder to master. ¡°There are also skills that passively improves your status in different ways. These skills have no way of leveling up, but they¡¯re usually effective in the long run due to the fact that they require no activation, and often raise your status by a portion of your original. These are the hardest skills to obtain, because you have to go through strict training of some sort and fulfill unknown conditions to get them. ¡°Some skills are a bit special, though, and are separate from the category they should be in. Another skill I have is called [Inferno Wolf], which should be categorized under the [Fire Magic] skill. It has its own skill level though, because it can be improved even further. The higher the skill of level is for these type of skills, the more efficient they will become. ¡°Now, there are also special skills that don¡¯t fall under any category, but they¡¯re often more powerful. They¡¯re harder to learn, though, and some may even require certain conditions to even use them. A friend of mine had a skill called [Titan Strength], which basically multiplied his strength greatly. He can use this as a trump card to turn a situation around in the span of a minute or two.¡± Ash thoroughly explains the different types of skills for me, which I listened to completely. ¡°If skills can be learnt, they can be created as well, right?¡± I continue inquiring about how the skills worked, curious about the limits of the [System] ¡°Yes, it is possible, but it depends on what you mean by ¡®creating¡¯ a skill.¡± He replies. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Anyone can ¡®create¡¯ a skill, whether it just be a simple chain of attacks put together, but to have it recognized as a proper ability by the [System] is a different task. It requires a set of strict conditions to be met before it becomes an actual ability supported by the [System]. These skills are often called [Unique Skills].¡± ¡°Are there any benefits from a self-made skill being supported by the [System]? Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t be a point to having the [System] recognize it.¡± ¡°Correct. There are benefits from having the support of the [System] itself. First, the [System] can improve the skill itself based on your proficiency with it. But because it¡¯s self-made, you can also improve it in your own way by adding additional effects alongside the [System]¡¯s upgrades.¡± ¡°...huh? I didn¡¯t understand that at all.¡± Unlike the previous explanations, this was far too confusing for me. ¡°Well, a visual example would be easier in this case. Would you like to go to the practice grounds for a demonstration?¡± I take his offer by nodding my head, and he exits the room with his sister while I follow closely behind. As we walk through the grand hallways ¡°So I¡¯m finally going to see magic right? Moreover, a self made one by you?¡± I ask with an impatient tone in my voice. It¡¯s going to be my first time seeing magic in action, after all. ¡°You¡¯ll get to see magic, but I¡¯m not the one with the [Unique Skill]. Raina is the one that will be doing the demonstration.¡± ¡°Your little sister has already made her own skill!?¡± Although I didn¡¯t understand his earlier explanation, it sounded like creating a skill was a difficult feat. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s an absolute genius.¡± Ash says with pride. ¡°When we were still attending [Adventurer¡¯s School], she was tied for the second strongest student in the school. She graduated with an [A-Rank], and quickly rose in the ranks of the guild, surpassing me just about a week ago when she became an [Immortal-Tier] [B-Ranked] adventurer.¡± ¡°It sounds like she might reach that [Legend-Tier] that very few humans have achieved. You think she¡¯ll be able to compete with the other races?¡± According from yesterday¡¯s explanations, Humans were one of the weaker races in this dimension. ¡°Although the other races have the advantage of natural magic affinities or unique abilities, I believe that Raina can easily match them with her stats and skills. In fact, I think she might even be able to reach [God-Tier]!¡± Ash speaks with full confidence, believing that his little sister had such potential. ¡°She¡¯s really quiet, though. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve heard her voice yet. Is she shy around strangers or something?¡± ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s fairly shy. She¡¯s actually quite playful once you get to know her, often going around in search of risks and danger. Isn¡¯t that right, Raina?¡± She actually nods in reply, which is the first display of communication I¡¯ve seen from her ever since my arrival. We continue talking about random things as we head to the practice grounds. He gave me more information about the world, explaining the [Adventurer¡¯s Guild] in more detail and talking about different features of the [System] such as the [Party System] and the [Duel System]. He also told me about different races and what traits or unique abilities they had. When we reach the practice grounds, I was amazed by the sight. It looked like a complete forest, with flourishing plants and large trees filling the entire place, and there was even a small breeze causing them to sway. I see several people dueling each other in mock combat at full force. They¡¯re really going at it, so I guess the [Duel System] was at work right now. They were using swords, hammers, daggers, magic, and even guns. Wait a minute. Guns? ¡°You guys actually have guns in this world, with magic!?¡± I yell in astonishment. ¡°Yes we do. They¡¯re called [Magic Guns], an extremely powerful weapon developed by Humans in an attempt to make up for having no unique traits like other races. Although very efficient, their potential is limited. Adventurers who use them generally can¡¯t get past the [Legend-Tier] ranks, so there are no known marksman in the [God-Tiers].¡± ¡°Why is that? I¡¯d imagine someone using a machine gun with magic would wreak a lot of havoc.¡± It didn¡¯t make any sense to me that a powerful weapon which can be used as a medium for magic doesn¡¯t have high potential. ¡°Guns may be powerful, yes, but in the end, everything that¡¯s fired from it are basically projectiles of magic. A [God-Tier] mage would have the abilities to block, deflect or disintegrate those projectiles of magic, while [God-Tier] warriors can block or destroy them. That¡¯s what it means to be [God-Tier], so adventurers who rely only on [Magic Guns] won¡¯t reach it.¡± He explains to me. ¡°Aria relies on them a lot though¡­¡± An adorable voice whispers. Although I didn¡¯t see her moving her mouth, I would guess that it was Raina. ¡°Ah, yes, that¡¯s true I guess. But she¡¯s also capable of using any weapon that goes into her hand, and the largest variety of magic anyone is capable of under the [Immortal-Tier].¡± A smile appears on Raina¡¯s face as she hears Ash¡¯s reply. ¡°Who is this Aria person?¡± I ask him. Judging by Raina¡¯s reaction to Ash¡¯s praise, she must¡¯ve been a respectable adventurer Raina looked up to. ¡°A junior back who attended the same school as us. She was Raina¡¯s best friend.¡± That works, too, I guess. I didn¡¯t ask any more questions because I didn¡¯t think there would be interesting to know about this Aria person. ¡°Hey there Ash, pretty rare to see you around here. Who¡¯s the new guy?¡± A large man suddenly approaches Ash from the practice grounds, greeting him. He was wearing heavy platemail armor, and had a giant warhammer attached to the back of his armor. ¡°Hello Marius, this is Christopher Riden, my disciple. Chris, this is Marius, a member of the Royal Guard.¡± Ash introduces the both of us to each other, and I wave my hand at him. ¡°You¡¯re only 18, and you¡¯re taking on a disciple. Moreover, it¡¯s a little twig like him. Are you sure you haven¡¯t gone mad yet?¡± Ignoring me, Marius starts criticizing Ash. ¡°I am perfectly sane, Marius. In a week or two, you¡¯ll see why I chose him.¡± He replies in a calm manner, unfazed by Marius¡¯s criticism. ¡°Whatever, it¡¯s your choice. Soon enough, you¡¯ll see that you¡¯re still too young and inexperienced to be taking in disciples and stuff. So what brings you to the practice grounds?¡± Marius asks, changing the subject. ¡°Well, I¡¯m here to show off Raina and give him an idea of what a [Unique Skill] looks like, so can you get the other guys to clear out for a couple of minutes?¡± Ash requests. ¡°Sure, don¡¯t see the problem with that. It¡¯d be nice to see the power of one of the king¡¯s personal soldiers¡± Marius says with a grin before turning to the soldiers training in the forest. ¡°Hey guys! Raina wants to show off for a bit, so step out for a minute and watch what a real skill looks like!¡± She must¡¯ve been fairly respected around here, because the soldiers quickly stopped whatever they were doing and left the practice grounds in an excited manner. ¡°Mind changing the location to an open area location that¡¯s really hot? Something like a desert should be fine.¡± Strangely, Ash says that to no one in general. At least, that¡¯s what I thought, until the forest floor began shaking and a loud rumble can be heard. Everything within the forest began being absorbed into the ground, even the trees and grass. Eventually, the entire practice ground turns into an empty field made of stone. Afterwards, cracks began to emerge in the stone and broke it apart, turning the field of stone into a field of rocks. It continues to break down though, turning the rocks into pebbles, and the pebbles into even break down. When the entire process is over, the beautiful forest that was just here has turned into a complete desert. ¡°Wha¡­ what the heck just happened!? The forest completely turned into a desert! Heck, even the air is getting warmer just from standing here!¡± I yell in shock. ¡°It¡¯s called a [Magic Landscape]. Very expensive to build, but it allows us to change the terrain however we like. This is useful for practicing in different locations and conditions for our soldiers.¡± Ash answers. ¡°Haven¡¯t you seen any before? Most [Adventurer¡¯s Schools] should have them.¡± Marius asks. ¡°He¡¯s from the countryside, so he hasn¡¯t attended [Adventurer¡¯s School].¡± Ash explains to him. ¡°So you got a random guy who doesn¡¯t know the basics of adventuring as your disciple. Sounds like you¡¯re an amazing master, with an amazing disciple, huh?¡± He replies sarcastically. ¡°Think what you will, but he¡¯s probably going to surpass the both of us real soon. Anyway, Raina, go find a good location to use our skill, I¡¯m going to head to the top of the [Observer¡¯s Tower] with Chris.¡± Nodding in reply to her brother, Raina walks into the scorching landscape alone. ¡°You guys seriously have everything, don¡¯t you? I guess it¡¯s to be expected of the largest kingdom in [Atalin].¡± I say to Ash as he leads us to the tower. ¡°I can only imagine your surprise when you the castles of other [Living Worlds]. More specifically, the world of clockwork machines and robots, [Syitist].¡± Ash replies. ¡°Is there like a different world for everything? Because that¡¯s what it sounds like.¡± We talk about more trivial things as we enter the tower and climb the stairwell. Before I even noticed, we¡¯re already at the top of tower. There, was a giant lounge room, and a huge glass window that gives a clear view of the practice grounds. I look out the window, only to see Raina standing in the middle of the desert all alone. ¡°Was it necessary to turn the landscape into a desert? I mean, an empty wasteland alone could work to demonstrate her skill.¡± I point out. ¡°Though unnecessary, it does help display the full potential of it. You¡¯ll see what I mean soon enough, just watch. She¡¯s about to start.¡± Just as Ash said, some sort of blue, aura-like substance starts to gather in the sky. Although I¡¯ve never seen it before, I¡¯m sure that this substance is the energy known as ¡®mana.¡¯ They start to form into large clouds of mana, filling the sky above the castle. At first, they were thin and transparent, but as more and more mana gathered, the clouds gradually became thicker and denser. Soon enough, it became so dense that the clouds eventually start blocking out the sunlight, enveloping the castle in complete darkness. They start to spiral around ominously, before they all change directions and bolt downwards onto Raina¡¯s position. Upon impact, the clouds instantly turns into a white mist that begins spreading along the desert floor. By the time the mist disperses into the air, it had already covered nearly the entire span of the landscape, leaving behind a field of ice. Everything the mist had touched was now covered in a layer of ice, except for Raina herself. There was no sign of the ice being affected by the heat of the desert. ¡°Raina¡¯s own [Unique Skill], [Crystal Battlefield]. It creates a battlefield of ice that hinders the opponent¡¯s movements greatly and even weakens the effect of their magic. On the other hand, it¡¯ll increase Raina¡¯s combat abilities and amplify the effects of her own magic. She¡¯s pretty much undefeatable against anyone in the same ranking as her in this field of ice.¡± Ash boasts proudly. ¡°...and you¡¯re saying that she was tied for second in her school?¡± I couldn¡¯t even imagine another person around her age being capable of this. Heck, I can¡¯t even believe that there was someone who was more powerful than her. ¡°...I¡¯ll take back my previous statement about Raina being undefeatable. Believe it or not, there¡¯s actually someone who¡¯s far stronger than Raina. Although this person¡¯s skills aren¡¯t as fancy or large scale, she is the absolute strongest.¡± His words sends a chill through me, due to how serious he sounded. ¡°What makes her so special?¡± I ask, curious about this Aria person now. ¡°Everything about her: Strength capable of lifting warhammers without breaking a sweat, speed beyond a bullet, a magic armory beyond anything I¡¯ve seen or read about.¡± He speaks of her as if she was some sort of goddess of war. ¡°So tell me why you summoned me when there¡¯s already someone like her?¡± With a war goddess on your side, I¡¯m not really needed at all. ¡°Aria has the potential to become [God-Tier], a very powerful asset that would be useful for fighting against this unknown force. But you, Chris, have the potential to reach [Titan-Tier], which is something that we may need. It didn¡¯t exactly specify how powerful it was, but the stronger you become, the higher the chances are of being victorious in this battle, and the amount of casualties will be reduced.¡± Ash¡¯s answer caused me to freeze in surprise for a bit. According to him, [Titan-Tier] is a rank that no one¡¯s ever reached yet throughout history. I can potentially be one of the first few to reach it. ¡°I like the smile on your face. Does that mean you¡¯re ready to get started on training?¡± Ash asks with a grin, and I give him the obvious answer that he was expecting. ¡°Hell yes I do!¡±
Well, there¡¯s the slightly boring side story. There hasn¡¯t been a show of the [Hero]¡¯s power this story, but I¡¯ll try to give a demonstration in the future when he becomes stronger in the next side story. Now I¡¯ll get back to the main story, and we¡¯ll return Aria¡¯s departure to the hardest dungeon in {Sykerion]. Stay tuned, guys! P.S. Sorry about the boring side story. P.P.S I need help. VRDraco is slave driving me to death for me to write more. ARGH! V2 Chapter 6: The Spar Chapter 6: The Spar Nature is beautiful. Very beautiful. In my previous life, I would often pass my time relaxing on a tree, watching nature at work in forests and jungles. I like to see how the animals interact with each other, the birds singing in harmony, or just the trees swaying by the wind. It¡¯s a very relaxing atmosphere to be in, and normally I¡¯d enjoy taking a walk through a forest. If there wasn¡¯t a raging man yelling at the large group of soldiers I was following. ¡°I told you all to keep walking you lazy mutts! This isn¡¯t some sort of field trip to watch the damn wildlife scenery! We¡¯re going to an expedition at a dungeon where we¡¯ll be fighting for our damn lives! Quit laughing back there, you think this is a joke!? Maggots like you will die in an instant if you underestimate an [S-Ranked] dungeon! It doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re an [Immortal-Tier], you¡¯re still freaking killable! Being [Immortal-Tier] doesn¡¯t make you immortal you pieces of crap! Even a kid would know this!¡± Currently, the entire expedition group is marching through a forest to get to a [Mana Field]. No, they¡¯re not field made of mana or anything, it¡¯s just a location with a higher density of mana than normal. They¡¯re useful for spells that require large amounts of mana, because the mage can extract mana from these fields to complete the spell. They¡¯re randomly scattered throughout [Sykerion], all naturally made by the world itself. They can¡¯t be created or destroyed, but they do have a limited storage. If someone manages to deplete the entire mana supply though, the [Mana Fields] can regenerate it¡¯s mana automatically. It usually takes approximately a month or two to completely refill its storage, so many countries have created laws to prevent people from overusing these fields. ¡°Mr. Terimal is just as motivating as ever, it seems.¡± Jinada mutters aloud. ¡°Well, he isn¡¯t going to retire anytime soon, not before he whips us all into [Royal Guard] material.¡± Morne whispers in response. ¡°...he¡¯s scaring away the animals¡­¡± Cam must¡¯ve been looking forward to seeing some, since her voice had a hint of sadness to it. ¡°We¡¯ll get to see some on the way back, don¡¯t worry. Otherwise, I¡¯ll take you to the zoo, alright?¡± Cam¡¯s eyes seem to light up upon hearing Jinada¡¯s words. ¡°That isn¡¯t fair! Let me go too!¡± Pyre says with dissatisfaction. ¡°...me as well.¡± Even Mira wanted to join? Were they that interested in the animals? ¡°I¡¯m trying really hard to resist the urge to just kill you right now, Jinada.¡± Morne glares at him as he says this, clearly jealous. ¡°Why¡¯s that? Is there something wrong with visiting the zoo as a group?¡± Jinada¡¯s response attracts even more glares from the men around him. I didn¡¯t see anything wrong with that either. Isn¡¯t it fun when there¡¯s more people? ¡°Nothing. Someone as dense as you wouldn¡¯t understand anyway.¡± ¡°Say, what happened to Thoth? She hasn¡¯t said anything for a while, and that blank expression on her face hasn¡¯t changed since we started on this march.¡± Ah, Pyre actually noticed. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s probably because of what happened earlier.¡± Jinada explains to her about the scene where he told Thoth only one quest was available for her. She went into some sort of extremely shocked state, and has been like that ever since we left the [Guild Office]. Fortunately, she was able to accept the only [A-Ranked] quest available for her, so at least she¡¯ll be able get something out of this expedition. How she was able to access the pylon and receive the quest while in that state is a mystery I still can¡¯t figure out myself. ¡°Hahahaha! Serves her right for failing her academic studies!¡± Tears can be seen in the corner of Pyre¡¯s eyes as she laughs loudly. ¡°Hey! What the hell are you bastards talking about!? I hear laughter back there! I just said to shut the hell up and keep marching!¡± The angry man yells. Pyre immediately stops laughing, and continued marching as if nothing had happened. For the remainder of the march, it was mostly silent with the occasional whispering among the soldiers, but nothing to warrant the raging man¡¯s wrath. After about an hour of marching, we finally arrived at our destination. A wide, unique meadow was spread out in front of us, and tiny blue particles were spread throughout the air above it. ¡°...pretty.¡± I whisper to myself. Despite seeing [Mana Fields] before, none of them looked quite like this. ¡°Although I¡¯ve seen it before, I still can¡¯t get over how amazing this view looks.¡± Jinada voices his thoughts aloud, and based on the expressions of the others, they had the same thoughts as well. ¡°Okay, we¡¯re going to start setting up the spell formation! Mages, start drawing that magic circle! I want that thing done in less than an hour! Marksmen, scout the area to make sure no civilians or possible monsters are roaming nearby! Guardians, accompany them so nothing happens! Warriors, stay here to make sure nothing happens to the mages!¡± The old man yells out orders to the soldiers, and they all immediately split up to complete the tasks they were given, including Jinada¡¯s group. ¡°Has Thoth not broken out of her shock yet?¡± Evalot approaches us as the others spread to do their tasks, asking about Thoth¡¯s condition. I shake my head in response to this. ¡°Have you tried getting her out of it? Why not try a light hit to break her out of it?¡± Evalot¡¯s suggestion made sense to me, making me wonder why I didn¡¯t think of it before. I proceed to turn to Thoth and lazily swing my arm at her, letting out a weak slap. It did a bit more than I intended, though. Upon finishing the swing, the force of it sent her flying away; straight into a tree. Afterwards, her body falls limply onto the grass, and she remains still for a few seconds on the spot. I wasn¡¯t that worried though, something like this wouldn¡¯t even break a bone on her body. ¡°I said to hit her lightly, not to kill her, Aria!¡± Clearly shocked about what just happened, ¡°...she¡¯s fine.¡± I reply to her calmly. ¡°No way she isn¡¯t. The impact even caused the tree bark to shatter. We need to get a medic right awa¨C¡± Her words are interrupted when the still figure lying on the floor suddenly gets up and enters a fighting stance with her fists up. ¡°What happened!? Where am I!? Who¡¯s the attacker!?¡± As expected, Thoth came out unharmed by the strike, energetic as ever. ¡°Not even a single bruise on her?¡± ¡°Some of us would definitely break bones from something like that, [Immortal-Tier] or not.¡± ¡°Why are the hotter chicks the stronger ones in this occupation?¡± The soldiers around us share their thoughts with each other, but I ignore them as I walk up to Thoth. ¡°...good morning.¡± She immediately turns to me upon hearing my casual greeting, surprised. ¡°Aria? What¡¯s going on? When did we get in a forest? Were we knocked out and brought here or something!? Did you already kill the perpetrators!?¡± Thoth started spouting nonsense, confused about what¡¯s happening. ¡°...preparing to enter dungeon.¡± I interrupt her rambling, stating the situation. ¡°What, we¡¯re already going to enter the dungeon? I don¡¯t even remember coming here!¡± ¡°Shock, whole trip.¡± I answer calmly. ¡°Seriously!? Oh wait¡­¡± She stops talking for a short while, most likely recalling the reason why. ¡°Geh¡­ for the first time ever, I regret sleeping through the written exams!¡± ¡®Even if you didn¡¯t, I doubt you studied enough to even pass,¡¯ I wanted to say, but I didn¡¯t. Instead, I just sigh to myself. I am a bit relieved that she didn¡¯t become depressed about the inability to accept [S-Ranked] quests at the moment. I wouldn¡¯t know how to cheer her up otherwise. ¡°Well, what¡¯s done is done. How about a quick spar to warm up? Get out blood flowing before the expedition starts!¡± ¡°Wait, you were just sent flying with a single hit earlier, and you want to spar against her?¡± Evalot asks, shocked. ¡°Hm? You mean that light slap earlier? She didn¡¯t use her full strength, so there aren¡¯t any bruises on my skin, and all my bones are intact. I¡¯m pretty much in top condition.¡± Thoth replies with a natural tone. ¡°I don¡¯t think that fit the description of a ¡®light slap¡¯ in any way possible¡­¡± She mutters quietly. ¡°Oh? What¡¯s all the commotion about here?¡± An aged voice with a calm tone speaks out. I turn to see an old man standing next to us with a smile. I wouldn¡¯t have noticed he was there at all if he didn¡¯t speak. ¡°Mr. Daedalus! No need to mind us, our guests just want to get a bit of exercise before the expedition.¡± For unknown reasons, Evalot attempts to steer him away from us. Of course, something like that wouldn¡¯t even fool Thoth. ¡°Is that so? Then, would you two mind if I joined you in your ¡®exercises¡¯? These old bones of mine have not seen action in a while, it¡¯d be nice to unwind some of my joints.¡± He asks with a polite tone. ¡°Oh~ a free for all? That sounds pretty fun. You sure you can keep up, old man?¡± Thoth happily accepts his request to join us, taunting him while doing so. ¡°No need for a free for all.. I would prefer for both of you to fight me at once.¡± Daedalus interrupts Thoth, making an extreme suggestion. He still had the same expression on his face, but for some reason, he becomes more intimidating. ¡°Mr. Daedalus, they¡¯re only children, and they¡¯ve only recently become [Mortal Tier]¨C¡± ¡°Sure.¡± I cut off Evalot¡¯s words, who¡¯s still trying to stop the spar. Based on how hard she¡¯s trying to prevent him from fighting us, he must be one of the stronger warriors of this group. This might be an interesting challenge to take. ¡°Perfect. Then let us find another location to battle, I do not wish to interrupt the mages. Let us go, shall we?¡± Not waiting for a reply, he begins walking away into the forest. ¡°Feels like another boss fight, don¡¯t you think, Aria?¡± I simply nod in reply to Thoth¡¯s statement, before following him into the forest and away from the [Mana Field]. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C After leaving the [Mana Field], Daedalus lead us to a different location for our spar, which a lake that went deeper into the forest. Upon arrival, he told us to warm up before starting the fight. Neither of us listened though, and we each went to do our own things: I went to find a safe place to put down my giant case, while Thoth went to watch the fish in the river. After I found a suitable location, I returned to the lake, where I saw Evalot pleading to Daedalus. ¡°Mr. Daedalus, please reconsider this battle. There¡¯s no designated combat zone for the [Duel System] to support us, what if someone inflicts a deadly wound?¡± The old man simply ignores her pleas, while continuing to do his stretches. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t worry so much. Even if he manages to beat me, there¡¯s no way Aria will lose.¡± Thoth calls out to her, keeping her eyes on the fishes. ¡°Do not overestimate yourselves. You both are much more capable than the average adventurers at your rank, but there are still others far stronger than you in the upper tiers!¡± It¡¯s nice to know that Evalot considered us ¡®above-average.¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s nice to see young adventurers start off confidently. From what I¡¯ve heard, you two were given A and S rank upon graduation. I can definitely see you two becoming great adventurers in the future, perhaps even surpassing me. But right now, neither of you should have the abilities¡­¡± As soon as the old advisor finished stretching, his figure spontaneously turning into a blur, before disappearing from where he was just warming up. ¡°...nor the experience to become one.¡± Before I knew it, he¡¯s already making his first move, starting the duel. Activating my [Enhanced Detection], I quickly notice that he wasn¡¯t actually behind me, but above me. Reacting immediately, I turn with both arms raised, and barely blocked an axe kick from my opponent. The impact of the kick forced me back a bit, but I still held my ground. He jumps back after failing his initial surprise attack, but I¡¯m forced remain on the defensive. After landing a small distance away, Daedalus stomps on the grass below him. Several giant rocks emerge from the earth below the forest soil, and they all levitate in place. He begins to kick those large rocks towards me, turning them into giant projectiles with extreme velocity. I take a defensive stance with my arms up, as the rocks fly towards me at extreme speeds. For the first rock, I dodged it by moving to the left, feeling a little pressure from the amount of force put into it. The next two were pretty much side by side, and the gap in between was too small. In order to dodge it, I take a few steps before jumping as high as I can, the rocks barely grazing my shirt. I managed to dodge these two, only to met with another aimed right above them at my position. Although I can¡¯t move freely in the air physically, I utilize my magic by blasting a [Wind Bolt] below me. With an effect similar to a double jump, I manage to dodge the fourth rock without a scratch. Landing on my feet with a heavy thump, I look at the final projectile flying towards me. This one was considerably larger than the rest, and it¡¯s velocity even more extreme. With no option to dodge, I raise my arm towards the giant projectile and fired an [Inferno Bolt], completely destroying it. Suddenly, the old man emerges from the dust cloud left behind from the rock. Using the cover of the projectile, he closed the distance without me even noticing. I should¡¯ve guessed that he would¡¯ve pulled something like this; a common tactic used to catch opponents off guard. It was too late to react now, so I immediately enchant my body with [Stone Body], to try to absorb the incoming punch from him. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Surprisingly, rather than connecting the attack, Daedalus jumped away from me. In his place, several spears of shadow cover the ground where he stood. A large patch of darkness covers the ground behind him, and Thoth emerges through it with a spear made of shadows in her hand. Daedalus noticed her presence though, and quickly stepped to the side to dodge her first thrust. Thoth doesn¡¯t stop there, and continues to pressure him with a storm of attacks. Put under pressure by her, the old man is finally forced to be on defence. I take this chance to try and attack him while he¡¯s distracted, sprinting towards open rear. When I closed the distance to approximately 10 meters, I make a wide leap towards him and pull my right arm back. As I fall, I start turning my body, ready to slam my opponent into the ground. Thoth noticed me from below, and tried to back away right before the impact. Unfortunately, Daedalus¡¯s reaction time was far beyond normal and he instantly rolled to the left upon seeing Thoth¡¯s sudden retreat. I end up hitting only the forest floor, blasting away a huge portion of the soil under me. The recoil from the attack caused me to be immobile for a second, leaving me defenseless, but Thoth was there to back me up. She leaps over my crouching figure, and suppresses the old man again with a barrage of slashes and thrusts. When I¡¯m finally able to move again, I immediately stood up and stretch my arms forward in front of me. I make a grabbing motion, and my arms suddenly start disappearing into air, creating ripples in the space. A feeling similar to dipping my hand into a body of water, I reach into my [Spatial Pocket] and summon several balanced throwing knives. Pulling them out of the separate dimension, I whisper an enchantment to set their blades aflame. I haven¡¯t mastered modern magic yet, so I can¡¯t do voiceless incantations with them. ¡°Get down!¡± I say aloud to my ally, before throwing my knives in short intervals. Without a second of delay, Thoth instantly crouched low, the flaming projectiles flying over her like bullets. Daedalus was able to dodge the first few, but they were too fast for him to evade completely. Two of the knives were able pierce him, one in the right thigh and the other in the right forearm. I can hear a sizzling sound coming from the wounds, due to the flaming knives cauterizing the area they pierced. Thoth didn¡¯t allow him to rest after the waves of knives, following up with a series of high speed thrusts with her spear. With impaired movements, Daedalus was able to dodge the first few strikes, but the knives slowed him too much. Thoth was able to hit his chest directly on with the back of her spear, sending him flying backwards. He spins wildly in the air, but somehow regains his sense of balance and lands on his feet away from us. This concluded the first exchange of attacks, with us being able to wound him. ¡°Hoh¡­ I was wrong it seems¡­¡± Daedalus admits aloud. ¡°Your combat abilities are as exceptional as I¡¯ve heard, but your combat experience amazes me more. Neither of you are any less dangerous than an experienced war veteran, despite being so young.¡± ¡°Thanks for the compliments. We¡¯ve seen our fair share of battles, but you don¡¯t need to worry about that. So, do you want to keep going at it, or do you give up already?¡± Thoth asks with a taunting voice. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I haven¡¯t gotten old enough to lose to brats like you yet.¡± Daedalus responds with a smirk. ¡°You¡¯re not making a very convincing argument, with two knives inside of you and all.¡± ¡°If you think something like this can actually hurt me, then you¡¯re gravely mistaken.¡± Right after saying that, he casually grabs the handle of the knife in his right forearm and pulls it out in one motion. The cut was only visible for a second, before the skin mends and fixes itself. He pulls out the knife in his thigh as well, which also heals in a single second. ¡°[Self Regeneration]...¡± I mutter quietly to Thoth. ¡°Yeah, pretty damn strong too it seems.¡± She whispers back. ¡°Well then, girls. Are you ready to start round two?¡± ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°...I win?¡± I ask the two exhausted warriors on the ground in front of me. ¡°I haven¡¯t had a workout like this in a while¡­¡± Daedalus says while leaning on a nearby tree. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have turned this into a free-for-all¡­¡± Thoth gasps out as she lays panting on the forest floor. As soon as round two started, Thoth started it off by attacking me, before declaring it to be a free for all. For over half an hour, the three of us fought head to head without restraint, going at each other as if it was a real battle. In the end, I remained as the last warrior standing due to having the most stamina despite being the most active in the fight. ¡°Evalot, it seems like you had nothing to worry about. They¡¯re much stronger than you described to me, and can clearly handle themselves in a fight. In fact, I think they¡¯re even stronger than some of our own soldiers.¡± Daedalus says after catching his breath. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect them to be so strong either. But despite being so tired now, you were holding back the entire time. You still didn¡¯t pull out [Grymwire].¡± She states. ¡°Even if I wasn¡¯t, I would probably fail to outlast Brynhildr. It¡¯s always painful to fight a [Brawler] class over an extended period of time. They always have the most energy out of the fighting classes.¡± Daedalus makes a random statement that confused me. I don¡¯t recall having that class. ¡°What¡¯s... that... supposed to mean?¡± Thoth asks, still trying to catch her breath. ¡°[Brawlers] usually have passive abilities that makes their stamina endless. I can¡¯t see how the girl would last longer than me otherwise, so she has to be one, am I wrong?¡± ¡°...yes?¡± I answer, curious about why he thought that. Both Evalot and Daedalus went quiet upon hearing this. ¡°...really?¡± Evalot asks to confirm. ¡°Yes.¡± I repeat myself for the second time. In an instant, Daedalus pulled Evalot away and they both began whispering to each other. During this, Thoth finally regains the stamina to stand up again and comes to my side. ¡°You¡¯re such a cheat existence.¡± She whispers to me so the other two don¡¯t overhear. ¡°...didn¡¯t ask for this.¡± I reply normally. ¡°Yeah, I know that much. But honestly, I¡¯m kinda glad we¡¯re on a second run at life. Gave us a chance to be friends, right?¡± I turn my head to see her looking up at me with a smile. It was really adorable to see, and before I realize it, I find myself rubbing her head. ¡°Again? Do you just like touching my hair, or are you trying to emphasize the fact that you¡¯re taller than me and can casually do this?¡± Thoth says with an annoyed expression, but the tone in her voice couldn¡¯t hide the fact that she enjoyed it. After a few seconds, I see Daedalus approaching us in the corner of my eye and stopped rubbing her head. ¡°The preparations should be done for the teleportation spell, but before we head back, I¡¯d like to ask both of you something.¡± He immediately says as he walks up to us. ¡°The both of you, would you like to join¨C¡± ¡°¡±No.¡±¡± The both of us answered in sync. Silence fills the air around us, the old adventurer in front of us staring at us as if he was analyzing what he just heard thoroughly. Behind him, I can see Evalot completely shocked at our immediate answer. She opens her mouth to say something, but Daedalus raised his hand to stop her. ¡°Very well then.¡± Without another word, he turns his back to us before walking down the path back to the field. Evalot looked at us with a worried expression on her face, before following Daedalus down the path. ¡°We should get going, I want to see how this teleportation spell works!¡± Thoth says with excitement, as if we didn¡¯t just harshly reject the old man. She sprints to catch up with the two while leaving me behind. I take my time to return, slowly walking through the forest and admiring the scenery, which I wasn¡¯t able to do before. Of course, I went to get my case before heading back. No way I was ever going to forget this. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Third Person POV: [Etermony]. One of the many worlds separate from Sykerion, with their own unique race and technology. It is also known as the world of nature, due to the amount of forests and the massive variety of magic beasts spread throughout its surface. Here, the dominant race are called the [Wood Elves], whose appearances are very similar to human, but are distinguishable by their long, pointed ears. Unlike most races, the [Wood Elves] have survived by living in harmony with nature, allowing them to have a natural affinity with elemental magic no matter what. Even though they¡¯re able to use it freely, they hardly have any conflicts with other races, making them the most peaceful race compared to the rest. But being the most peaceful race doesn¡¯t necessarily mean they¡¯re weak. In a massive, monsoon forest in the eastern parts of the world, the largest country of [Etermony] lies there, known as [Rurutia]. Ruled by a monarchy, they are one of the superpowers of the world, and are recognized as one of the most powerful forces in this dimension, compared to the other [Living Worlds]. Due to many elven youths seeking to join this powerful military, it is a country where warriors and adventurers gather together. [Lune], one of the bigger cities of the country, often holds tournaments in a grand colosseum. Today is the final day of a major world tournament hosted by the Royal Family themselves. It is basically an event for them to scout out potential fighters to add to their ranks, as they are preparing for something unknown. Outside the city, two strange figures were standing near the entrance. One was dressed in attire similar to a ninja, with a tantou hanging off the waist. The other wore heavy, plated armor similar to samurai, while wearing a horrific mask symbolizing the old [Death God] that the elves managed to defeat many millenniums ago. They were supposed to be the finalists in the [Two-on-Two] event, yet, they were leaving the city. ¡°I don¡¯t think it was a good idea to skip the final battle.¡± The ninja says. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. Neither looked like they could¡¯ve lasted for a second, so it doesn¡¯t matter. Let¡¯s just get moving to the next city, I¡¯m getting bored of this.¡± The samurai complains in response. ¡°If you want someone strong, then¨C¡± ¡°No. You¡¯re just overpowered, and a cheat.¡± ¡°...yeah, I guess. Sometimes, I wonder why we¡¯re both even here.¡± ¡°No use thinking about it. Besides, if it weren¡¯t for you, I¡¯d still be here in my original form and tearing everything apart. But no~ you had to come along and do something about it!¡± ¡°Considering you were wreaking far too much havoc, it was the necessary thing to do. Besides, the [World Gates] are open, right?¡± ¡°So what? That doesn¡¯t benefit me in any¡­¡± The samurai suddenly freezes on the spot, becoming silent. ¡°...you okay?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a genius!¡± The heavily armored figure suddenly yells, before laughing crazily. ¡°I don¡¯t like the sound of your laughter¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! The [World Gates]! There¡¯s bound to be stronger fighters in different worlds, right?!¡± The ninja sighs upon hearing the samurai¡¯s words, knowing what¡¯s coming next. ¡°[Pladis], the closest city with a [World Gate].¡± ¡°Thanks, Jin. Man, it¡¯s awesome being friends with a [Former Hero]. Both smart and strong!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget this [Hero] was the one who slayed you, Naia the [Death God].¡± ¡°You became old and died a few years later anyway. Doesn¡¯t matter now, does it? Now let¡¯s get going, shall we?¡± Sprinting in the direction of [Pladis], the samurai was clearly excited to find fighters from other worlds. The ninja sighs again, before reluctantly following behind.
11:00 PM, I return from a certain place alive. And upon returning, I shall release this before going to sleep and waking up again to start the next one. I know that I was gone again, breaking promises here and there, but I think I¡¯m getting my grip back onto my life. Though some of you may need to re-read due to how long it took for this to come up, I¡¯ll be a bit happy to see you guys picking this up again as I try to catch up with missing chapters. As always, thanks for reading, and I¡¯ll try to reply to your comments when I can! P.S. My editor quit due to me disappearing for so long without notifying him, Can¡¯t blame him, my fault completely. So basically, there¡¯s probably a ton of grammar mistakes. Edit: Seems like he returned, and edited the chapter. Thanks Naoki~ Edited + the A.N. (Author Note)