The New World That I Know Very Well [2]

Sarah's apartment was almost the same as mine. One separate bedroom, living room connected with the kitchen, and one bathroom.

Well, It was furnished, so it didn't feel as empty.

Sarah told me to sit at the table and wait for the food to be ready.

While she was preparing the dinner, I decided to ask:

"Umm, what's that thing on your wrist?"

"Oh, this?" She asked while lifting her left hand on which was the futuristic-looking watch.

"Yeah," I answered.

"This is a NEARWatch [A]. It's a holographic smartwatch made from an A rank monster core. You can call and text people, browse the news, play games, take photos, pay with it, pretty much anything you want." Sarah explained.

Seeing my interest in her NEARWatch, she then asked:

"Wanna try it out? It's pretty intuitive, so you should be able to use it easily."

"Yes!" I said excitedly. It was technology that didn't exist in my previous world, so there's no way I wouldn't want to give it a try.

The design of the watch wasn't too complicated. It looked like a simple black wristband, just a little bit thicker, and had a sign on it. Which I assumed to be the "Power" button.

'Perfect, I can check my whereabouts,' I thought to myself.

I tapped on the "Power" button, but a holographic lock appeared.

Then I heard Sarah in the kitchen saying:

"Unlock."

After that, a computer-like desktop appeared. I searched for a map app and opened it. The map app displayed a map and my localization. I zoomed out to see in which part of the continent I was.

The continent was divided into nine different parts, the biggest - central one, and the others surrounding it.

I was in the central part, where the number one academy is located.

An academy to which the main character of the story will go. That's also where I'm planning to go. Not to follow the main character and interfere with the plot, though.

If I wanted to fulfill my dream, I had to survive. And to survive, I needed to be stronger. Strong enough to deal with at least an S rank monster that might randomly appear in the middle of the city.

And how do I get stronger? By increasing my stats, gaining skills, and learning how to fight.

You see, the number one academy was one of the best when it came to raising strong heroes. It has advanced training equipment, high-ranked teachers, and most importantly, I will be able to experience the school life I always wanted!

For now, I need to get stronger to even be able to pass the entrance tests.

After confirming my location, I looked around my surroundings on the map. I wanted to find out more about the area I was in. Then I turned the map app off.

The main screen showed up again, and then I noticed an app named "Hero License." I opened it, and a new tab showed up.

"Huh," I made a sound, surprised.

The app was simple. It showed your hero's profile and some statistics. But what surprised me was what it contained.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

Hero : Sarah Jane

Rank : A+

System Rating : 34.7 [Last updated 2 years ago]

Ranking : 358

Dungeons Cleared : G(14) | F(7) | E(8) | D(19) | C(4) | B(26) | A(34) | S(3)

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'Sarah Jane, haa, I remember seeing this name somewhere.'

"Hmm"

'Sarah Jane, Sara Jane.'

'Right! Sara Jane, one of the mana class teachers at the number one academy. She was a mage-class hero known for her white lightning skill. It allowed her to cast white lightings with high destructive power.'

'But wasn't she an S rank?'

'Ah right, last updated 2 years ago.'

System Rating 34.7, but probably higher by now. She was really strong, with my rating at 0.6, she was at least 50 times more powerful than me. Now, that I think about it, I'm glad she didn't kill me with that hug earlier.

As I was lost in my thoughts, I heard a female voice right next to my ear saying:

"What are you doing~?"

"Aaah! What, oh it's you, Sarah, uff, you surprised me, hehe." I said awkwardly while scratching my head.

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to~. The dinner is ready, here." She then placed 2 plates with spaghetti on the table.

"Thank you."

Then Sarah continued the previous conversation:

"So, are you interested in heroes? Just so you know, this big sister right here is an A+ rank hero." Sarah said proudly while puffing up her chest.

'She must have noticed that I was looking at her hero license.'

'And when did you become my big sister?'

I ignored it and decided to act a little. In an excited tone I said:

"Really? That's incredible! Can I also become a hero like you?"

After thinking for a few seconds, she answered:

"Maybe? I'm not sure. Can you tell me what your status is?"

"Alright"

"Status"

――――――――「 Status 」――――――――

Name : Michael Bertz

「 Stats 」

Rating : [0.6]

Vitality : [0.15]

Mana : [0.0]

Strength : [0.6]

Agility : [0.6]

Intelligence : [1.65]

Luck : [2.8]

「 Skills 」

<Death is Just a Beginning (Hidden)(Passive)[EX]>

――――――――――――――――――――――

「 Status 」could be seen only by the user of it.

"What do you want to know?" I asked.

"Tell me all your stats and skills that you have."

"My rating is 0.6, vitality 0.15, mana 0, strength 0.6, agility 0.6 and intelligence 1.65." As I was saying that, I could see the look on her face change into the look of pity.

"And I don't have any skills." I decided to lie. It was an obvious choice. There's no way I'm gonna reveal my skills, especially a skill this powerful.

"I see," she answered, clearly sad while being lost in her thoughts.

After that, neither of us said anything, until I finished eating. It was tasty, definitely better than the hospital food.

"Thank you for the food. It was delicious." I thanked her for the food and as I was standing up, I heard Sarah saying:

"I know!"

Hearing that, I turned my head and asked:

"What is it?"

"I will adopt you!" She happily announced.

'Pardon? Is that what she was thinking about so hard all this time? We just talked about my stats and becoming a hero.

How did her thought process lead her into wanting to become my mum?

How did it go from stranger, then to big sis and now to my future mum so fast?'

'Well, to be honest, it is tempting, having support from a future S rank hero. But it might put me into the spotlight. I can already imagine the headlines in the news saying: "Sarah Jane, an A+ rank hero adopted a child." and etc. And I don't want to be controlled too.'

'She is still a woman in her prime. Having a kid would for sure make her life harder. Also, I would feel bad lying to her all the time. It just wouldn't be fair. Sure, I lied to her earlier, but I was desperate, and I would pay her back later. I also no longer want to live like a pest living off someone as I did in my previous life.'

"I'm really grateful for your kind intentions, but I will have to refuse. You'd be helping me too much, and I just can't accept that." After that, the atmosphere got a little tense, so I gave Sarah back her smartwatch and decided to leave.

"Thank you for the food again. It was really good. I will be going then." And so I started walking in the direction of the exit.

Before I could get to the doors, Sarah stopped me and said:

"Are you sure? Will you be fine on your own?"

To make her feel at ease, I answered:

"We are living next to each other, so If I ever have a problem, I'll come and ask for help. You can come too if you will ever need me for anything."

Hearing that, she said:

"You can come again if you want. I mean for dinner. It's kind of lonely eating alone, so I don't mind."

"I will for sure, thanks," I answered.

"Oh right, here, take it. You don't have to repay it." Sarah said as she handed me 100N banknote.

"No, no, I will. Thanks again. Goodnight." As I said her goodbyes. I took the banknote and left.

"Goodnight"

'I will definitely repay this favor.' I thought to myself.

'Now, It's time to make some money. I hope the "Union Hall" is still open."

Union Halls are the Hero Union's buildings. They are located all around the continent. You can register there as a Hero and get the hero license. You can also create a guild or form a party there.

Every Union Hall also has an item shop. It buys and sells items gathered from monsters, gates, and etc. That's also the reason why I want to go to Union Hall.

I rode the elevator to floor 0 and exited the apartment building. What awaited me outside was a completely new world. A scene straight from the sci-fi movie. Tall and weirdly shaped buildings.

In the air, I could see cars flying around. Except for pedestrians, I could also see some people riding on weird gadgets that levitated above the ground. There were also flying drones that collected trash, so the streets were pretty clean. The surroundings were well lit, so I could see everything very clearly.

It was a little bit different from what I imagined, but it still was an incredible view.

I took a look at the address to come back and not get lost.

Then I went in the direction of the closest Union Hall. I checked its location on the maps earlier, and it was around 1.5km from my apartment.

On my way, I received many looks from people that I passed. Considering I was still wearing the hospital gown, they must have thought that I was some kind of weirdo.

After around 40 minutes of walk, I finally reached my destination. There were still many heroes and workers inside. The holographic clock showed time 21:37.

After searching for a few minutes, I found the item shop. The inside looked like an apothecary but more futuristic and clean.

"Hello, how may I help you?" asked one of the shop assistants while scanning me with his eyes.

"Hi, I would like to buy four [G] grade mana stones and blood from 3 different [F] rank monsters, 100ml each," I answered.

"Alright, give me a minute, and I'll be right back," said the shop assistant as he went into the storeroom.

Mana stones could be gathered from dungeons in gates and could be used to restore some of your mana. However, the amount they restored wasn't that great, so the lower-graded ones were especially cheap.

There is a way to upgrade them, not known yet to this world.

It should be later discovered by the S Rank Hero - Black Alchemist. She is also a teacher at the number one academy.

If I remember correctly from the novel.

The process was actually pretty simple. You had to dip the mana stone in the blood from three different monsters with a rank higher than the grade of the stone. Then you had to light the blood on fire. After a few seconds, it should stop burning.

Then just wait for 48 hours, and it should be done. The mana stone should absorb the mana from the blood from monsters, and the blood itself should change its color from purple to red.

After a while, the shop assistant came back with the materials, packed them inside a bag, and asked:

"Is that everything you want?"

"Yes, that's all."

"That will be 74N."

"Here," I handed him the 100N banknote.

"Here's your change, 26N."

"Thank you, goodbye."

As I was leaving, I looked at the clock, and it was showing time 21:42.

I was slowly feeling really exhausted, so I headed back.

On my way home. I bought a lighter and 4 bowls in the convenience store. Now I was left with only 14N.

It took me around 50 minutes to get to my apartment. Inside, I sat on the floor and placed 4 bowls next to each other.

"Here I come, moneyyy."

I tried to distribute the blood into the bowls equally. Then I took out the 4 blue, glowing mana stones and put them in the bowls with blood, one each.

After that, I lit the blood on fire. It released a disgusting smell, so I opened the windows and waited for the fire to stop. When I was sure that it stopped burning, I left it there and lied on the bed.

"Haaaa."

'When was the last time I felt this satisfied lying on a bed?'

'I somehow missed this feeling.'

'Ah, I should have bought a notebook and a pen to write everything I know before I forget something.'

'Whatever, I'll do it tomorrow...'