AbyssRaven
patreon
Side Story 7: A Warning. [Release Version]
🕑 Added 2020-02-26 21:19:00 +0000 UTC“What kinda fucked up logic is that supposed to be?! Why do I have to do something those old geezers said, huh?! Just give the leader position to that perverted otaku, Mikami. That slimy guy wants it anyway.” Like a fountain of defiance, Hanazawa spat out complaints and arguments as if she prepared them beforehand.
Elrick calmly took in all her anger, smiling wryly as he neither soothed nor scolded her for the outburst. He was just standing there, nodding when she finished saying something and waited until she started a new sentence.
On the other hand, the others weren’t taking it too well.
Kyouya kept up a fake smile, showing a polite indifference to everything that is happening right now. He was rolling his eyes, looking away in the distance while he disconnected himself from the situation.
Sakamoto watched the scene with a frown, glaring at Hanazawa with cold eyes. Merely glancing at it was enough to send a slight chill down my spine, even though all her hostility was being aimed at the complaining Hanazawa.
Amelia had a hand placed before her mouth but from this angle, I could see her jaw was slacked downwards. Her eyes showed none of her bewilderment, perfectly retaining the poker face of an experienced noble lady.
Mikami seemed to be the one who took it the worst, as Hanazawa couldn’t stop including him in her complaints. All the derogatory terms and insults used to describe him made veins appear on his face, quickly pulsating from his increased blood pressure. His bootlicking persona dropped and he was shooting daggers at Hanazawa with his eyes.
I followed Kyouya's example and simply shook my head in annoyance and then zoned myself out, waiting for her to stop acting like a spoiled brat. This terrible personality of hers was one of two reasons why everybody at school called her a delinquent.
It wasn’t because she was violent or a bully, it was more her general attitude towards everything in school. Hanazawa was lazy and would vent her frustration on others like a kid giving a tantrum whenever she disliked something. I wasn’t a model student, but even I could tell her personality and work ethics didn’t fit the school.
I bet Segawa-sensei hated her! Sensei had perfectionist tendencies who valued hard-work a lot, even if you messed up or had a bad personality. The two of them would scowl whenever they spoke, mostly because Hanazawa gave up on most tasks she was given. She was irresponsible, and just made the class atmosphere terrible.
However, you could still say that it was teenage drama, right? She was a terrible student and classmate, but she wasn’t failing at school. She always made it through somehow. You couldn’t call someone a delinquent just because of their bad performance or temper.
“Go to hell, Elrick!” At that moment, Hanazawa swiped a plant vase from the counter and was about to throw it on the ground, just to be stopped by Elrick who caught her wrist.
Nice catch.
“Lady Asaka, you may let out your frustration as much as you want. Your role and title must put an extraordinary amount of pressure on you, after all,” Elrick took back the vase with his free right hand and placed it back on the counter, releasing his grip on Hanazawa’s wrist after he was done. “However, vandalizing this waiting room? That I cannot permit. Your room is yours to change, but this room’s condition is important for many people.”
The second reason was her tendency to break and vandalize public property. She was known for breaking objects to de-stress and I heard she was a graffiti artist, from somebody. In our school, since the majority were inside the same social circle, you would hear a lot of rumors. And people knew her parents would bail her out before she got arrested properly.
This all made it seem so insane that she got the [Saint Candidate] title. She was the complete opposite of Aiko. Who was this Goddess of Light, and how could she be stupid enough to give her a title like that? In my opinion, if you were to let her roam freely, she would probably be more of an issue to the church’s reputation.
“I know you must be angry, but I ask you to bear with it. The divine bishop, the Pope, himself had given this order,” Elrick said with a troubled expression. “Although the blessed like our Saints and Champions only answer to their patron gods, you are still only a saint candidate. You cannot dispute his authority.”
“Then go tell him to go to hell! I, no, all of us aren’t part of this damn cult of yours! What sorta psycho sends teenagers to fucking war for a world we don’t even belong to?!” Hanazawa kept shoving her finger into Elrick’s breastplate, shouting close enough I bet some spit got onto it.
Can’t deny she’s talking the truth, though…
Elrick, an unmovable bastion against everything Hanazawa had to say, kept up his smile like he was used to it. “ I understand what you want me to do, Lady Asaka, and I would do it for you. Maybe not use your words. However, I must inform you that the chances are very slim. It will be more productive for us to form your party now.”
Kudos to him. I would have flipped out by now.
“Don’t say that it’s my party!” Hanazawa, unfortunately, still had the energy to continue this mentally straining quarrel. “You just can’t stop trying to put pressure and responsibilities on me, it seems. I told you this time and time again that…”
“Will you shut up!” And that was why my boiling point reached its peak. “Can you do something else besides complaining? None of us wants you to be the leader but we’re accepting it because our lives are made easier when we accept the church’s decisions. Stop. Just, stop! Face reality! All you need to do as the ‘leader’ is to exist and activate the experience sharing function. Nothing else!”
Everybody’s gazes were directed at me, but I continued staring Hanazawa’s eyes down, instead of acknowledging everybody else’s.
Hanazawa grimaced, not expecting somebody else to intrude into their feud. However, given a few seconds, she took in a deep breath and she returned to shooting her words out, this time aimed at me, “Are you telling me to accept this, Nagata? The fact they’re training us like child soldiers? Has all that spear swinging slowly brought out the caveman inside you? Oook ook ok ah ah ah ah?
“… At least I’m doing something compared to you,” I rebuked, trying to keep my veins from popping out.
“Ahaha! What about that first month where you were just a recluse, huh? Now you’re trying to berate me for something I disagree with? I break things, sure, but I’ve never punched or kicked anybody in my life before I came to this world. Killing sounds like a nice jump, huh? … Fuck off, hypocrite.” However her words stung harder than mine.
Kyouya, noticing I couldn't speak back, opened his mouth to support me, "Hanazawa-san, Tatsuya might have been practically useless in the first month but he's bettering himself now. Better late than never. That's all that counts.”
“Nagata-kun at least understands the situation we are in,” My eyes widened like a ggoldfish when Sakamoto came to my support, too. “You made us wait one hour, 15 minutes, and 51 seconds exact. Even if you want to continue complaining, we need—
“Don’t give me that shit. I know you’re also not into this, pipsqueak. I know you hate all this fighting and so on, and how you cry into the night about how you have to kill and see all the gore—”
“Eep!”
“Hey!” Kyouya stepped in between the two girls, blocking Hanazawa’s eyes on the flustered Sakamoto. “Chill. No need to get heated up, alright?”
However, while I liked Kyouya’s intervention, I couldn’t really speak up to what Hanazawa said. Sakamoto wasn’t just shy but not a really good combatant at all, from all the training we’ve been doing. Her physical stats grew slower than everybody elses, and she didn’t have a unique skill which made magical training easier.
And she knew it as she was biting her lips right now. What she was was a math goddess, in my opinion. Good with accounting and other things like a human calculator. She was valedictorian material, just not in sports… or learning how to kill, really.
“I’m not a big fan of yours either, Hanazawa.” From the side, Mikami spoke, having finally found his chance to speak his mind. “I have literally better things to do than to stay here and listen to your braindead insults, but I need that party set up. It doesn’t even cost you anything to do it, besides pressing eight buttons!”
“We don’t need you to be our leader,” Mikami’s argument was the perfect segue for me to continue speaking. “We only need you to let us use the experience sharing function and not to get chastised by the church. We really can’t give a shit about you.”
To others, it might look like three dudes and one small girl bullying a single girl but… actually, this was exactly what we are doing. We were ganging up against her, pressuring her to do something she didn't want to do, while also insulting her. However, I really did think we are in the right to do this. She was acting selfishly despite our situation requiring us to be adaptable. Even if she didn’t want the responsibility of a “saint candidate,” what on earth could she possibly do to stop that?
Exactly, nothing. She had no power, and neither did we. The only thing we could do right now was to follow commands and find a way out of all of this.
“Tch… fine, whatever.” Hanazawa’s flustered face had a bead of cold sweat drip down her chin as she finally caved in. “If you want your fucking party that badly then you can have it! Just remember that you did not pressure me into doing this, but that I was nice enough to do it for you.”
Yeah, yeah, write in on your socials, I said to myself. How could anybody think this person was a saint, huh? Even her unique skill [Saint’s Wrath] was heresy for traditional RPG saints.
<Saint’s Wrath: A skill that enchants all attacks of the owner according to their current holy elemental magic skill. Empowers all holy offensive spells. Any attack and ability used by the owner will always be holy element attuned. Physical attacks are also strengthened by the owner’s Intelligence stat>
Hanazawa, as she agreed to, quickly formed a party and invited us all into the party, then activated the experience sharing function according to Elrick's instructions. It really looked like she could cry at any second during this whole process. There was nothing tough about this delinquent. She was just a stupid adolescent girl with an attitude… which we now all had to deal with.
________________________
Name: Tatsuya Nagata Level: 0 Job: Fighter
Health: 341/341 Mana: 79/79 Stamina: 205/205
________________________
Party Leader
Name: Asaka Hanazawa Level: 0 Job: Caster
Health: 328/328 Mana: 234/234 Stamina: 219/219
________________________
Name: Kyouya Ishigami Level: 0 Job: Fighter
Health: 413/413 Mana: 87/87 Stamina: 317/317
________________________
Name: Haruka Sakamoto Level: 0 Job: Scout
Health: 257/257 Mana: 146/146 Stamina: 204/204
________________________
Name: Daichi Mikami Level: 0 Job: Caster
Health: 284/284 Mana: 165/165 Stamina: 104/104
________________________
The Misfit party has finally been formed… yay.
“There, happy?” All four of us decisively nodded simultaneously to Hanazawa’s question, which clearly shocked her. “Whatever… just leave me alone now.”
She was about to leave when she was once again stopped by Elrick. “Lady Asaka, please have patience for just a bit longer. You still need to update your Jobs. I would also like to announce that from today onwards, you are allowed to use the Crystal of the Divine System in the knight’s garrison for your leisure.”
Hanazawa groaned, shook her head in defeat, then sloppily walked over to Crystal of the Divine System and pressed her hand against it. It glowed its distinct white to signify it was being activated. Hanazawa called out "I choose the Job [Cleric]” followed by a confirming “Yes.”
“There, I’m done… So, can I go back to my room now?” Her face was devoid of energy, the result of her unnecessary childish tantrum. “Or do I have to wait for these clowns to finish, first?”
Elrick's silent smile was enough of an answer. Hanazawa sighed, lacking the energy to start another argument, and walked over to one of the couches in the room and plopped herself on it.
Ignoring our “leader,” the three others in my party started choosing their new Jobs.
From the explanations we received, Jobs were exactly what you would imagine from a “class” or “profession” from an RPG. In this world, Jobs would grant you acquisition bonuses and also level up with you, helping you gain new skills and stats without needing the SP system.
Aside from special occasions, like the gods granting us new Jobs, it was only possible to change our Jobs using a [Crystal of the Divine System]. We would start with some base classes like [Fighter] or [Caster], but the more prerequisite Jobs and skills we obtain, the more options would open up for us.
While the other three were choosing their new Jobs, I took the opportunity to ask Elrick for his status board as a reference to mine. He gave me his ID with his usual smile, not dropping it in public at all costs. Placing it on my bracelet’s chain, the blue screen with Elrick’s status board appeared before me.
________________________
Name: Elrick von Karstein Level: 41 Race: Human
Age: 21 Years Job: Paladin
Status: Health: 1199/1199 Mana: 792/792
Strength: 531 Intelligence: 543
Vitality: 737 Wisdom: 704
Agility: 491 Stamina: 811/811
Effects: None
Skill: Magic skills and related:
[Mana Efficiency Lv. 2] [Mana Control Lv. 5] [Arcane Mind Lv. 4]
[Holy Magic Lv. 5] [Water Magic Lv. 3] [Chant Revocation Lv. 1]
Physical skills and related:
[Sword Technique Lv. 7] [Sword Mastery Lv. 5] [Spear Technique Lv. 5]
[Spear Mastery Lv. 4] [Archery Technique Lv. 3]
[Archery Mastery Lv. 2] [Shield Technique Lv. 5] [Shield Mastery Lv. 4]
[Unarmed Technique Lv. 1] [Sundering Enhancement Lv. 4]
[Piercing Enhancement Lv. 2] [Crushing Enhancement Lv. 2]
[Mana Strike Lv. 4] [Stamina Strike Lv. 3]
Senses and movement skills:
[Stealth Lv. 3] [Accuracy Correction Lv. 3] [Concentration Lv. 2]
[Prediction Lv. 5] [Danger Perception Lv. 2]
[Probability Correction Lv. 3] [Enhanced Enemy Sense Lv. 7]
[Enhanced Auditory Sense Lv. 4] [Enhanced Olfactory Sense Lv. 3]
[Enhanced Vision Lv. 6] [Tracking Lv. 1] [Night Vision Lv. 1]
[Presence Killer Lv. 2] [Evasion Lv. 6] [Acrobatic Lv. 5]
[Ally Defender Lv. 4]
Resistances:
[Physical Resistance Lv. 6] [Pain Resistance Lv. 4] [Holy Resistance Lv. 3]
[Dark Resistance Lv. 1] [Fire Resistance Lv. 3] [Water Resistance Lv. 3]
[Earth Resistance Lv. 3] [Wind Resistance Lv. 3]
[Arcane Corruption Resistance Lv. 3]
Stat growth and related:
[Health Recovery Lv. 4] [Mana Recovery Lv. 3] [Stamina Recovery Lv. 3]
[Enhanced Health Growth Lv. 3]
[Enhanced Health Capacity Lv. 2]
[Enhanced Mana Growth Lv.´3]
[Enhanced Mana Capacity Lv. 2]
[Enhanced Strength Growth Lv. 3]
[Enhanced Strength Enforcement Lv. 3]
[Enhanced Intelligence Growth Lv. 3]
[Enhanced Intelligence Enforcement Lv. 2]
[Enhanced Vitality Growth Lv. 4]
[Enhanced Vitality Enforcement Lv. 3]
[Enhanced Wisdom Growth Lv. 4]
[Enhanced Wisdom Enforcement Lv. 3]
[Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 2]
[Enhanced Agility Enforcement Lv. 1]
[Enhanced Stamina Growth Lv. 3]
[Enhanced Stamina Capacity Lv. 3]
Others:
[Dancing Lv. 4] [Musician Lv. 4] [Identify Blocker Lv. 5] [Identify Lv. 1]
[Noble Aura Lv. 2] [Battle Mind Lv. 1]
[Royal Etiquette Lv. 6] [Riding Lv. 3]
Job Skill:
[Holy Magic Efficiency] [Supportive Spell Amp]
[Healing Amp Lv. 5] [Sword Mastery Lv. 5] [Spear Mastery Lv. 5]
[Shield Mastery Lv. 5]
Ability List: Job abilities:
[Aggression] [Holy Guard] [Shining Blade]
Sword abilities:
[Slash] [Swift Cut] [Power Slash] [Bleeding Edge] [Duelist’s Counter]
[Calamus Shredder]
Spear abilities:
[Pierce] [Flash Spiral] [Sweeping Farewell] [Tempest Swirl]
[Perforate Stab]
Archery abilities:
[Arrow Shot] [Curved Pursuer] [Long Flight]
Shield abilities:
[Guard] [Shield Bash] [Shield Wall] [Shield Charge] [Air Shield]
Magic List: Job Spells:
[Calm Mind] [Veil of Light]
Custom Spells:
[Apply Light] [Holy Shield] [Apply Holy] [Create Water]
[Greater Create Water] [Cleanse Clothes]
Holy Spells:
[Minor Heal] [Cure] [Modest Heal] [Smite] [Light]
Water Spells:
[Water Ball] [Water Wall] [Water Bolt]
________________________
To be expected from a knight, honestly.
“Haha, you don’t have to look like that,” Elrick laughed after I grimaced at what I saw. “I only recently became a proper holy knight of the Goddess. I am still a fledgling, you could say. If you want to see a proper monster, you should see the Lord Commander’s profile. That is a shocker.”
Even now, he’s trying to be humble… Urgh, but I can believe it.
Once it was my turn, I gave Elrick his card back and then went to the crystal. Placing my hand on it, I could feel my mana once again being drained by the crystal as it used it to analyze me. Once the white glow appeared, I said in my head “Open Job Menu” to make the menu appear on the crystal.
________________________
Weekly Job Change Limit: 3/3
Previous Jobs: [Fighter]
Main Job: [Fighter]
________________________
Available Jobs
Job: Spearman
Requirements: [Fighter] Job tree, [Spear Technique Lv. 1] [Spear Mastery Lv. 1]
Acquirement Benefits: Strength increase, Agility Increase, [Spear Technique] proficiency, [Enhanced Agility Growth] proficiency, [Enhanced Stamina Growth] proficiency
Main Job Benefits: None
________________________
Job: Freelancer
Requirements: None
Acquirement Benefits: Health increase, Strength increase, Vitality increase, Agility increase, Stamina increase
Main Job Benefits: None
________________________
Meh, disappointing choices.
To have Jobs available for you to pick, you had to fulfill certain requirements. Most of the time it all depends on how far your status board has progressed but Jobs like [Knight] or [Paladin] required you to be knighted.
It was a bit daunting to imagine the number of Jobs that were possible, but that was where the fun would begin. The thought of unlocking a rare or unique class had piqued my interest enough I needed to start planning things out when I finally level up. Not to mention, it was expected of people to power level their Jobs up to max for all the bonuses.
“I choose the Job [Spearman],” I called out.
<Will you change your Job to [Spearman]?>
Instead of a confirmation screen appearing on the crystal, I received a message from the System to confirm my choice.
Yes.
<Individual [Human, Tatsuya Nagata] has acquired Job [Spearman]>
<Attributes have increased due to Job acquirement>
<Multiple acquisition requirements fulfilled. [Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 1] [Enhanced Stamina Growth] acquired>
<Proficiency requirement fulfilled. [Spear Technique Lv. 3] evolved into [Spear Technique Lv. 4]>
<Will you set Job [Spearman] as your Main Job?>
Yes.
<Individual [Human, Tatsuya Nagata] has switched his Main Job to [Spearman]>
<Main Job benefits have been updated due to Job change>
In this world, every skill had a breakpoint where you couldn’t increase that skill’s level any further without fulfilling the requirement to break through it. Usually, it would be something extremely inconvenient and annoying to do.
For example, my [Spear Technique] would only break through to level four if I killed a certain number of enemies by using my spear abilities. Our combat instructors explained we had to reduce the enemy’s Health to zero with something like [Pierce] or [Flash Spiral], otherwise it wouldn't count. Like every RPG, some game mechanics just had to have some tedious requirement to unlock something.
Usually, I would hate it when game designers implemented these bad design choices to artificially prolong a game. However, in this case, it could all be done naturally through play— fighting. The only way to fulfill such an object was to end another living being’s life.
… I wonder if I can do it. Breathe in, Tatsuya. Breathe in.
Regardless, besides naturally fulfilling the requirement, there was also the option of breaking through by changing your Job and gaining the proficiency bonus from them. While the System didn’'t show you the "proficiency bar" and how far you had progressed in it, we did know it existed. The System said it, after all.
“Proficiency requirement fulfilled.” That was exactly what the System told me when my skill [Spear Technique] evolved.
Logically, you could interpret something from this. To upgrade a skill, you needed to increase the proficiency of the skill to its maximum amount, while fulfilling any breakthrough requirement.
However, it seemed you could completely avoid this using the Job System. By just acquiring a new Job, I was able to avoid killing anything to level [Spear Technique] up. There was also the Skill Point System we [Otherworldly Visitors] had. Since I had no SP, I couldn’t prove it, but I could imagine being able to skip breakthroughs with it.
Once you acquired a Job, it would be saved in your Job history and you could freely switch to any of them. Some Jobs also had Job specific skills, abilities, and spells which could only be used while you had it as your main Job.
The "Main Job" was the one shown on your status board, ID, and party UI. While it was smart to gather as many Jobs as you could, sometimes it would be better to strive for quality and unlock advanced Jobs for the actual OP bonuses.
Elrick’s [Paladin] was a prime example for this, granting him three extra abilities and two new spells.
“Alright, everybody is finished, so goodbye!” Jumping off the couch, Hanazawa made her way out of the room with unrestrained speed.
“Lady Asaka, I must escort you, so I beg you to wait for me outside.” Upon hearing that, Hanazawa stopped for a moment and groaned.
“Hurry up, or I’ll leave you behind,” she muttered while she left the room.
After she left, I could hear Amelia mumble “So, that’s the other saintess…” before she flinched back from the gaze of Elrick. She bid us farewell and then went back to her paperwork.
The rest of us also started to leave the room now that we were done here. However, before I could leave the room, Elrick called out to me while filling out a document on the counter. This was likely the report he had to hand to his superiors.
“Mister Tatsuya, I have something to ask of you,” putting his feather pen down for a second, he turned to me, now without his usual business-like smile.
I unconsciously tensed myself from those sharp eyes. "What is it, Sir Elrick?"
“I would like to say that I disapprove of your actions towards Lady Asaka, today.” His expression was stern, ready to scrutinize whatever I would. “As you must know, the holy state of the church of Aurena, Aureolis, worships the Goddess of Light as their main Origin God. We take our faith very seriously and holy magic practitioners are very respected here.”
He stopped his speech for a second to assume a praying pose, before continuing, “It goes without saying that people who bear the Goddess of Light’s blessing in the form of a title, like [Saint Candidate], are worshiped as their representatives. They are what we call our ‘Blessed.’ Although only a candidate, the fact she has this title makes her an important personage within our faith.”
He stopped praying, opened his eyes and curved his lips back into his noble smile. “I know Lady Asaka’s brash personality, so I will not fault you for your outburst. You know her longer than I do, after all. However, let me be earnest with you.”
He came close to me to whisper, “To the commoners and many nobles, a ‘hero’ isn’t as special as a blessed. Saints and Champions are what most Peolyncians considered ‘heroes.’ Even if you say you were summoned by the Goddess, most nobles would simply argue that you were collateral to summon the actual heroes — Lady Asaka and Lady Aiko. If you were to mistreat them, then even the church cannot save you from this sort of misunderstanding.”
A chill ran down my spine, I could feel my forehead wet from cold sweat. Elrick’s cold voice and harsh words stirred both my body and imagination into action.
His words pierced my mind, sending forth images of peasant mobs chasing me down with pitchforks and torches, trying to punish me for speaking out against Hanazawa. They would not stop until I was ashes. I gulped from that very thought and the fear that was assaulting my soul right now.
“… Is that a threat?” I instinctively asked.
He retreated back, giving me back my personal space. “A warning. You might not believe this, but I know what it feels to be vilified. I actually sympathize with your situation and can understand why Lady Asaka and your group are so distrusting of us and the church. You have all the right to be angry at us.”
“…” I kept silent. I didn’t know what he was getting with this.
“However, until we leave Aureolis, I suggest you keep your words in check, unless some zealous farmer or ambitious nobles takes advantage of the situation. The same goes for your friends. Remember: A ‘Hero’ is nothing compared to a Saint here.” A shock went through my body as Elrick continued. “I will protect you as much as I can, but you must remember that my real orders are to protect Lady Asaka and Lady Aiko. That is my duty as a knight of Aurena.”
“… Why are you telling me all of this? I am not Hanazawa’s friend, nor do I like her that much. You could just let things go, and you’d probably be rid of me.” I made sure to speak as quietly as I could, just so Elrick could hear me.
“Isn’t it obvious? Lady Asaka might have a rude mouth, but if everybody around her suddenly disappeared, I don’t think she could take it. She is more fragile than you think she is.”
“Pah!” I scoffed, shaking my head in disbelief.
“Well, it is not my duty to convince you of anything. However, do consider me a trustworthy ally, Mister Tatsuya,” Elrick said with a beaming smile, probably trying to make me let my guard down. “One day, you will outclass me. Your potential is indisputable. Even if you do not trust the church, our goals to defeat the demonkin and end the war between them and the Empire makes us allies. Here is a tip; become strong and attract the attention of the Holy Emperor of the Light, and he will bless you with equipment and artifacts from his royal armory, worthy enough to be wielded by his royal knights. With them, you will survive and return home.”
“… Well, you got me hooked with the mention of strong gear.” I smiled, but the tension inside my body hadn’t vanished just yet. His words from before were still causing me intense anxieties. “I really want to go back home and taste a certain beverage I love. I guess that means I have to start working even harder, huh?”
Elrick nodded for a moment, content with my answer. “Of course. I hope we will have a pleasant cooperation, “Hero” Tatsuya Nagata.”
The church is not my friend, but neither are they my enemies. Was what I got from that discussion, but the way Elrick said all of them just made me feel even worse about being stuck in this prison.
My legs automatically dragged my body out of the building after Elrick dismissed me. My mind was solely occupied with fleeing the scene, that I registered nothing else. I didn’t know how I got out, I didn’t know if the garrison’s lounge was empty or not, I didn’t know if Elrick even watched me walk out.
“Oi, Tatsuya!” I woke up with an “Ah!” after somebody grabbed me by the shoulder. “Dude, your gambeson is completely soaked in sweat. How the hell is that possible?!”
I turned my head around, noticing my best friend Kyouya wiping my sweat off his hand. The sight of his disgusted face and struggle to clean his hand was amusing enough to release all the tension inside me.
I sighed in relief but both my breathing and heartbeat still needed time to calm down. "God damn, it's good to see you again, Kyouya."
“Hold, on! Don’t hug me, dude!” Kyouya took out the shield that he, for some reason, always carried around and pressed it against my body, blocking my hug. “Stop trying to drench me in that damn sweat of yours? What happened in there?!”
Hearing him say that made me finally burst out in laughter. “Haha, sorry, sorry. It was just so hot in that room just now… huh? Where is Sakamoto-san?”
Kyouya’s suspicion wasn’t completely gone but he understood I didn’t want to answer what happened when I talked with Elrick. “She went back to Aiko and the other girls. If you’re curious, Mikami went back to his mage training and Hanazawa went back to her room, after waiting for a bit.”
Well, I guess that’s better for me.
“Well, whatever, come on let’s go,” I told Kyouya.
“Huh? Wait! Explain yourself before telling me to follow you somewhere," he called me out before I could walk off. "I have other things to do too, dude. You can't always drag me around wherever you want?"
"Pff, as if you have anything interesting to do. You only want to go back to Sakamoto-san," my words obviously caught him off-guard. "We have something more important to do than your little friendship-making, bro."
Kyouya's face was obviously annoyed I mentioned how I knew he had a crush on Sakamoto, but I ignored it.
"What is so important that we have to do it now?” he asked.
“We are leaving the church for the dungeon in two days. Don’t you think we have to train ourselves before then? We need to become stronger as soon as possible. No slacking off anymore."
Kyouya was silently contemplating my words, trying to understand what I meant with them. “… That important, huh? Coffee isn’t the only thing driving you forwards anymore, it seems. Now I am really curious what you spoke with Elrick about, cause you don’t act like that.”
I gave a nod to his response "I know, so you better understand we have to start benign serious about it. I mean, how the hell did you get all the fat off your body before turning into the muscleman you are today? Shut up, and come, already! We need to become stronger to survive!”
Kyouya shrugged at my answer but began following me nonetheless, saying, “I told you to forget about those days. The last things I wanted to hear about, and you know that.”
“Yeah, I get it, and hope you got it, too.”
He nodded. We’ve known each other since childhood, and whenever one of us became serious, almost unbearably so, we knew something serious was happening. In my case, the images Elrick sent me off were scaring me into action.
I found the whole idea of having to kill to advance repulsing, but I had to face reality. My current attitude wouldn’t bring me any further. I needed to return back to Earth. I had to survive. Not only for myself and coffee, but I had a duty to see my family again. Besides, my younger cousin probably misses me with how I couldn’t play games with her, right now.
I couldn’t let my little cousin cry now, right? What sort of person would I be then?
I need to become stronger. Much stronger than Elrick. Even stronger than the Knight-Commander!
I will not be burned on a stake in this world!
________________________
Hestia’s Status Board around this time.
Name: * Level: 0 Race: Young Dragon
Age: 0 Month
Status: Health: 100/100(+20) Mana: 302/302(+50)
Strength: 46 (+15) Intelligence: 39 (+20)
Vitality: 26 (+10) Wisdom: 30 (+15)
Agility: 66 (+20) Stamina: 47/47 (+15)
Effects: None
Skill Points: 550
Skill: Magic skills and related:
[Mana Control Lv. 3] [Holy Magic Lv. 4] (+1) [Fire Magic Lv. 3]
[Earth Magic Lv. 3] [Primal Magics]
Physical skills and related:
[Mana Strike Lv. 2] (+1) [Enhanced Claws Lv. 1] (New)
[Enhanced Fangs Lv. 1] (New)
Senses and movement skills:
[Stealth Lv. 5] (+1) [Enhanced Enemy Sense Lv. 3] (+1) [Evasion Lv. 1]
Resistances:
[Physical Resistance Lv. 3] (+1) [Pain Resistance Lv. 3]
[Holy Resistance Lv. 1] (New) [Fire Resistance Lv. 1] (New)
[Earth Resistance Lv. 1] (New)
Stat growths and related:
[Enhanced Mana Growth Lv. 2] (+1)
[Enhanced Strength Growth Lv. 1] (New)
[Enhanced Intelligence Growth Lv. 1]
[Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 1]
Others:
[Identify Lv. 3] [Cooking Lv. 2] [Dismantle Lv. 2].
Spell List: Holy spells:
[Minor Heal] [Cure] [Modest Heal] [Smite]
Fire spells:
[Fire] [Firebolt] [Imbue Fire]
Earth spells:
[Earth Wall] [Rock Blast] [Earth Strike]
Other spells:
[Shine]
Titles: [The Light] [Bearer of Kargryxmor’s Blood]
[Otherworldly Reincarnator]
