48 Profit or loss?
Lucas clicked F Rank Omega and then the tab disappeared. Soon after a creature spawned. It was a Kobold with dog-like features. It stood upright bipedally. It was larger than normal kobolds reaching 5ft5 (170cm). It had light armour on and a one-handed sword in its right hand.
When Lucas saw the creature appear he stood on guard. When the Kobold saw Lucas it extended its arm to full length and then pointed its sword towards Lucas. Lucas returned the gesture and pointed his index finger at the Kobold. The Kobold acknowledged Lucas's gesture and then it charged at him. Lucas saw the Kobold charging at him but its speed was of no concern to him. So with his hand still extended he flicked his wrist upwards. He then shot out the same fireball at the Kobold. When the Kobold saw the fireball coming towards him it tried to dodge it while moving forward. But it was too slow and still got hit by it. The fireball hit him in the chest area. But still 0.8 seconds later the Kobold appeared in front of Lucas and swung its sword at Lucas's waist level. It swung so hard that a gust of wind was created that blew Lucas's dreads upwards. Lucas looked at the Kobold and then at the sword approaching. He then effortlessly took a step back avoiding the edge of the sword by a centimetre. And while the Kobold was in motion he fired another fireball in the Kobold's face. The Kobold had now lost the ability to see. As his face was burnt beyond recognition.
Because this is a simulation the Kobold didn't shriek in pain. Instead, it stopped swinging, returned its sword to its centre and then stabbed its sword in a forward direction. But it stabbed air, as Lucas moved to the right when the sword approached him.
" I should probably end this. This creature is not even on my level. I outrank it in strength, speed and intelligence." As Lucas thought this he fired a fireball on the Kobolds right thigh. The fireball burnt a circle through the thigh. Because of this, the Kobold lost the ability to stand on both feet. And fell to the ground. The Kobold couldn't stand and it couldn't see. It was done for. Just waiting for Lucas to kill it. It only had half a bar of health points. So Lucas began prepping his mana and this time he allowed more mana to enter to increase the power of the spell. He wanted to kill it one go. Once everything was complete Lucas released his spell. Suddenly the ground began shaking as if an earthquake was happening. It shook so hard that the earth split in two. Swallowing the Kobold hole (1) as it disappeared into the black and the vast nothingness known as death. Afterwards, the earth fixed itself again as the fissure became one.
When the ground returned to normal a new creature spawned. This was creature was E Rank Alpha. But just like the previous spawn, it was easily defeated. After Lucas defeated the E Rank Alpha creature the E Rank Mu showed up. It was a black Bi-pedal puma wielding a two-armed sword. It too was equipped in light armour. It looked like Eastern combat wear from Lucas's world. Lucas found this one quite challenging. It was stronger than him, faster than him but less intelligent. In the end, Lucas had to turn on combat mode and use its predictive analysis to set a trap for the creature. Lucas and the creature battled it out across the whole plane. Laying waste to the topography. Previously he had only used fire spells but now Lucas was using every element he had at his disposal. He used wind to increase his speed. He used water as a shield to slow down the fist strikes and swings of the sword ( to a degree). He used earth to set traps underground and change the landscape. Such as making quicksand to buy time for a new plan. He used mud to decrease the friction on the ground so the creature would have a hard time stopping post dashing.
Lucas wasn't using each spell at the same time but was switching between each element. Lucas and the Puma fought for 10 minutes straight. The puma had the upper hand because if Lucas made a mistake he would be wounded which would end the match. Where the puma used it's superior speed to dodge most of Lucas's attacks. Lucas looked to the bottom left of his screen and saw that he had 500mp left. And when he looked to the top right he saw that there were just 3 minutes until the simulation ended. If he wanted to win he had to make a move soon. His magic points were going down and the time was running out.
The puma ran towards Lucas and swung its sword at Lucas with a tremendous force. There was no time to dodge so Lucas cast a spell that raised the earth to create a wall in front of him. The Puma saw the wall and swung his sword at full force into the wall. The wall got sliced in two leaving a smooth surface where it had been cut. But once all the dust had settled Lucas had long since disappeared from behind the wall. Lucas retreated 5 meters away and began chanting a spell. Once he was done he began running upwards at an angle to a new spot. And stood there waiting for the Puma to come at him after he casted another spell. And just like before the Puma disappeared into a blur and then reappeared in front of Lucas already swinging its sword with both hands. Its expression was full of commitment as it swung at Lucas. It was ready for Lucas's wall and believed that if he summoned a wall he could break through the wall and Lucas instantly. But Lucas had a different plan of action. Instead of summoning a wall Lucas used a different earth spell. Mid-swing Lucas raised the ground the puma was standing on as such when he swung he swung above Lucas's head. Completely missing him. But the force of the swing was so strong that whatever grass was left on the ground had been completely uprooted. When Lucas saw his plan had worked he ran downwards at an angle to his next location.
By now the puma had realized that its ability with the sword was not enough to kill Lucas. Lucas always found a way to avoid it. Even though the puma was stronger and faster than him. So the puma dropped its sword and then returned to its natural form. It was no longer walking with two legs but with four. The puma had decided that if it can't win with a bit more speed and strength. It would win with overwhelming speed. The Puma felt the earth on its feet and then focused its eyes on Lucas. And then off it went dashing at Lucas at a speed twice that of last time. Lucas had now reached the last destination and immediately began chanting another spell. Lucas didn't concentrate on defence at all but just on the spell. The puma saw that this would be the final showdown. If Lucas went with defence, the puma would be able to dodge around it and then bite him. Causing fatal damage. But if Lucas went on the offence the match would be decided if he could inflict enough damage on the puma before it reaches Lucas.
Suddenly the puma was 2 meters away from Lucas but he was not done chanting. Until eventually Lucas was done. Lucas looked at the puma charging at him and then yelled " Hell's formation." Suddenly the ground began shaking and a massive wall of red flames erupted from the ground in the shape of a triangle. It engulfed everything within the triangle reaching a height of 3 meters above ground. Naturally, this meant that the puma was swallowed by the flames too. The flames continued to burn as if it was never going to end. It was truly Hell's flame. Lucas knew that the Puma was definitely dead. He had sunken 400 mp into this spell alone. It took him forever to make. He had to chant a spell on three different spots in the form of a triangle. Each time depleting him of 100 mana points and then the last taking 200 hundred mana points. There were stronger formation spells like the square, pentagon, hexagon ect. The more points of mana injection the stronger the formation. But also the longer the setup and the higher risk of being caught.
After a while, Lucas got the confirmation he needed. When another tab popped in Lucas's face asking if he wanted to take on an E rank Omega. Lucas declined the offer and then pressed the exit button at the bottom of the tab. Once he did the simulation booth returned to its blue colour and the door reappeared. Lucas walked out the door and saw that the line was still very long.
When he left someone else went in. Lucas walked out of the simulation area and then went to the cafeteria within this building as he needed to buy mana replenishments. Lucas only got 130 mana points an hour so he needed to have more in the off chance he got to the dorm and a fight broke out with his roommates. Lucas walked to the area and saw that it was large in size. There were hundreds of tables. It could easily seat 500 people and this wasn't the only cafeteria within this building. Lucas walked past all the tables and stood in the line. He scoped his surroundings and his fellow students. Looking if anyone caught his attention. And there were a few. Most of them were female but Lucas questioned himself. He wondered if what he saw in them was hidden strength or apparent beauty. " It's just a coincidence that they happen to be beautiful too," Lucas reassured himself.
" What would you like?" A girl said behind the counter said drawing Lucas out of his thoughts and back to reality. And then back in his thoughts as he thought," wow she's hot."
" I, I, I... I'd like to buy mana replenishments." Lucas stuttered.
The girl chuckled at Lucas's loss for words and then said: " Low, mid or high ?"
" Uhm, can you bring me all three?"
"Low, mid and high?"
"Yeah, I don't know their quality so I want to see the difference."
" Haha, just take the mid-grade one. It's good and it is cheaper than buying all three. "
" I'm not going to buy all three but I still want you to bring all three."
She smiled at Lucas and said, " Okay, will do." She then went to the storeroom picked three potions and then brought them to Lucas.
Lucas looked at them and brushed his chin with his fingers. He then thought " Attribute check" as he looked at one of the potions.
Name: Mana Potion
Level: 20
Production level: 30
Durability: 100/100
Application: Instant use potion that will restore 1000 mana to whoever drinks it.
...
Lucas looked at the other one and its attributes appeared.
Name: Mana Potion
Level: 20
Production level: 30
Durability: 100/100
Application: Instant use potion that will restore 1000 mana to whoever drinks it.
But it was exactly the same as the last. So Lucas decided to look at the last one on the left. Once he did the attributes popped up.
Name: Mana Potion
Level: 20
Production level: 30
Durability: 100/100
Application: Instant use potion that will restore 1000 mana to whoever drinks it.
This one was also of the same value as the rest. Lucas furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at the potions.
" Is something not to your liking." The girl said.
" Well yes. I asked for 3 different ones but you have given me three of the same?"
" Are you sure? They all look the same but they are not the same."
" No, I'm sure."
" But that's impossible... I checked them before I came here." The girl said.
" Then you should check again. Because I'm 100% sure these are all the same."
The girl looked at Lucas checking to see if she found any hints of mischievousness. But when she looked at Lucas it was clear he really meant what he said. So she decided to recheck. She took the three potions on the counter with her. " It doesn't hurt to be sure." She thought to herself.
She walked into the storage room and then soon after she returned with three potions in her hand.
She looked at Lucas a bit embarrassed and then said, " You were right. They were of the same value. But this time they are all different. Please check."
Lucas looked at the mana potions placed in front of him and then thought, " attribute check."
Name: Mana Potion
Level: 13
Production level: 35
Durability: 100/100
Application: Instant use potion that will restore 300 mana to whoever drinks it. Name: Mana Potion
Level: 15
Production level: 33
Durability: 100/100
Application: Instant use potion that will restore 500 mana to whoever drinks it.
Name: Mana Potion
Level: 20
Production level: 30
Durability: 100/100
Application: Instant use potion that will restore 1000 mana to whoever drinks it.
This time it was different and so he Lucas told her that it was different. When Lucas confirmed it to be correct this time she smiled at him.
" Did you know what grade the previous potions all were?" The girl asked Lucas.
" No, not exactly. I just knew they were all the same. But I assumed they were either mid or high-grade mana potions."
" Oh, so you knew. If so why didn't you just say you wanted all three. I would have charged you at the price of a low, mid and high-grade potion. Where you would be taking home three high-grade potions. You would have made a huge profit."
" Haha, I'm not going to lie. I thought about it but I decided not to." Lucas said and smiled at her.
The girl looked at Lucas's smile and began blushing. She then said, " So what potions do you want?"
" Give me two high-grade potions and 2 low-grade potions."
"That will be 40 silver pieces. 15 for the high grade and 5 for the low-grade"
Lucas handed her forty pieces of silver and then took the potions and put it into Thea's storage. He was going to drink it on the way to the dormitory. Lucas had now finished everything he wanted to do so he wanted to leave. But before he could.
The girl said, " You are actually my last sale. So I'm off now. Do you maybe want to grab something to eat with me...?" " My treat of course. I want to thank you for being honest."
1. I know very well that it's whole not hole. But I purposefully wrote it as "hole".
