Relaxing Shower? Nah, Thoughts.
As I stepped into the shower and let the water cascade over me, I pondered over the tasks ahead. There was so much to do, and the time was slipping away faster than I liked.
["Are you sure you shouldn't rest for at least a little while?"] Yui interrupted, her concern evident. ["It's been one thing after another in succession...When was the last time you slept properly?"]
I shook my head, washing the sweat from my face.
"You know as well as I do that there's something the System isn't telling us about this Rest Room. I want to find out as much as possible. I'm only given relatively little time each time I complete a trial to be in here."
Back during the 1st Trial, I asked Luna about the Rest Room. How could it be possible to get a skill without buying it from the Skill Shop?
Excluding my stunt on the 3rd Trial, which was merely me gaining enough knowledge to bring the SP cost of a skill to 0, which made me automatically gain the skill, there has never been an instance where I got a skill for free.
Moreover, the skill's level can only be increased in the Rest Room. Or at least, in here it's much faster.
Is there a particular reason?
She told me she couldn't tell me anything about it. For that to be the case, there had to be something in this room that I couldn't grasp yet.
Yui had no strong reply against my reasoning, so she remained silent.
Sighing, I emphasized, "There's no problem. I can just rest once I get into the 4th trial. It's not like I'll get thrown into some incredibly dangerous trial all of a sudden, right?"
["You just raised a flag, stupid!]" Yui exclaimed, frustration in her voice. ["Why did you have to go ahead and do that? Now it's almost guaranteed to be a bad Trial!"]
I chuckled, sensing her exasperation. "Seems like you've managed to adjust quite well with the new information. Even if you're an AI, I thought it would take a little more."
It seems I was underestimating her capabilities.
["Of course,"] Yui replied proudly. ["Given how capable I am, one has to recognize the truth eventually, right?"]
"Yes, Yes. You're amazing."
What can I do against this child? I'm helpless.
["Glad that you know, hehe!"]
I couldn't help but wonder where this shamelessness of hers came from.
'...Now that I think about it, after spending time with me, Asuna was the same.'
Huh.
'Do I really have this kind of effect on people?'
Smiling to myself, I rinsed off the shampoo and stepped out of the shower, feeling slightly more refreshed.
---
Although I made sure to read most of the prompts, as always there were some that were left over from the 3rd Trial.
It was the right time to read them.
[You have learned the fundamentals of Kenjutsu]
[You have watched more than 3000 hours of Kenjutsu Masters explaining their moves]
.
.
.
[The Sword Art [Kenjutsu] will be available to purchase in the Skill Shop for 30 SP]
[Your attributes are high enough. The cost of the Sword Art [Kenjutsu] has been halved]
[The Authority of Balance does not consider the price balanced]
[The Sword Art [Kenjutsu] is now available for 10 SP]
[The Authority of Balance goes back to sleep...]
[The cost of the Sword Art [Kenjutsu] has decreased]
[The cost of the Sword Art [Kenjutsu] has decreased]
[The cost of the Sword Art [Kenjutsu] has decreased]
.
.
.
[The Sword Art [Kenjutsu] has been automatically learned]
[Your Sword Art [Sky Art] has devoured the Sword Art [Kenjutsu]]
[As a consequence, all the sub-skills related to your Sword Art will massively level up]
[Your [Sky Art] has added the best aspects of the Sword Art [Kenjutsu] to your [Sky Sword Technique] and the [Sky Footwork]]
[Your Skill [Sky Footwork] has leveled up]
[Your Skill [Sky Footwork] has leveled up]
[Your Skill [Sky Footwork] has leveled up]
[Your Skill [Sky Footwork] has leveled up]
.
.
.
[Your Skill [Sky Sword Technique] has leveled up]
[Your Skill [Sky Sword Technique] has leveled up]
[Your Skill [Sky Sword Technique] has leveled up]
[Your Skill [Sky Sword Technique] has leveled up]
.
.
.
[Your Skill [Sky Slash] has leveled up]
[Your Skill [Sky Slash] has leveled up]
[Your Skill [Sky Slash] has leveled up]
[Your Skill [Sky Slash] has leveled up]
.
.
.
[You have learned the fundamentals of Kendo]
.
.
.
[Your Sword Art [Sky Art] has devoured the Sword Art [Kendo]]
[As a consequence, all the sub-skills related to your Sword Art will massively level up]
[Your Sword Art [Sky Art] has added the best aspects of the Sword Art [Kendo] to your [Sky Slash]]
.
.
.
[The Authority of the Sword is pleased with the Sword Art [Sky Art]]
[The [Sky Art] will now be able to draw out more of your Talent [Sword]]
[The Awakening Progress Rate of the Talent [Sword] will increase the more you use your Sword Art [Sky Art]]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
.
.
.
[You have completed the Third Trial. [???] Has been used]
[It has been detected that the user is about to die. [???] Has helped]
[[???] has made it easier for you to absorb the knowledge of the Cardinal System]
.
.
[[???] Has given you one last benefit]
[The Third Trial's Game Character, [Haru], has been recorded]
"The game character has been recorded?"
I pondered over it.
Right now, I had little information to understand what that meant yet. I asked Yui, hoping she might have some insight.
She seemed to have some idea, at least. ["I don't know exactly what it means either, but it could be possible that recording game characters is part of the System's hidden quests. Although one hasn't materialized yet, it might be a possibility we shouldn't overlook."]
That made some sense, though I had my doubts. If it were a hidden quest, something outrageous would have likely popped up by now, demanding my attention as usual. Still, I decided not to focus on it too much.
It's useless to ponder over stuff with no information. The thing that helped me did stuff on its own but didn't bother explaining how this benefit might help me in the future.
'I hate this kind of stuff the most. Damn System.'
But sadly, time waited for no one. I finished dressing and glanced through the various prompts.
One thing stood out: using my Sword Art as much as possible was now crucial, even more so than before.
Increasing the Awakening Progress Rate likely meant the more I used the Sky Sword Art, the faster my Sword would awaken.
That was much better than randomly increasing my Awakening by a few percentage points.
However, to get a more comprehensive understanding of the changes that had occurred, one crucial element was missing.
"[Status]"
The familiar holographic interface appeared before me.
[Status: Healthy+
Level: 305 ➔ 370 ➔ 450
Mana Pathways: Perfect ➔ Perfect+
Combat Prowess: ?(Will be calculated in the 4th Trial)
Martial Arts: Karate(Lv. 8 ➔ 45), Judo(Lv.1 ➔ 40)(NEW!), Taekwondo(Lv.1 ➔ 40)(NEW!), Sumo(Lv. 1 ➔ 40)(NEW!), Aikido(Lv.1 ➔ 40)(NEW!) ...
Sword Arts: Sky Art(Sky Footwork(Lv. 60 ➔ 120), Sky Sword Technique(Lv. 60 ➔ 120), Sky Slash(Lv.50 ➔ 110), Hand-To-Hand Sky Technique(Lv.40 ➔ 90))
Active Skills: Cooking Master(Lv.19), Turtle Shell(Lv. 75 ➔ 125), Mirage Veil(Lv.40 ➔ 76), Shadow Step(Lv.48 ➔ 62), Mana Explosion(Lv.115 ➔ 143), Overload(Lv.MAX)
Passive Skills: Body Zen(Lv.60 ➔ 80), Mind's Dominion(Lv.60 ➔ 80), Saint Body(Lv.1), Mana Control(Lv.83 ➔ 163), Regeneration+(Lv.90 ➔ 154), Limit Breaker(Lv. MAX), Killing Intent(Lv.33 ➔ 70), Elemental Resonance(Lv. 1 ➔ 5)(NEW!)
Growth Skills: Strength, Weakest Magic Generation
Absolute Skills: Ice, Fire, Wind
Magic: Body Strengthening(Lv.80), Sword Infusion(Lv.75), Equipment Enhancement(Lv.45), Slime Manipulation(Lv.99), Restricting Magic(Lv.32), Healing Magic(Lv.78), Weight Adjustment(Lv.25), Fly(Lv.35), Mind Manipulation(Lv.70), Thread Manipulation(Lv.70), Purification(Lv.8)...
Talent: Sword(Lv. 60 ➔ 80), Movement(Lv.60 ➔ 80), Wisdom(Lv.60 ➔ 80), Intuition(Lv.60 ➔ 80), Body(Lv.60 ➔ 80), Determination(Lv.60 ➔ 80), Mana(Lv.90 ➔ 100), Elemental Manipulation(Lv.110 ➔ 130), Resilience(Lv. 1 ➔ 10)(NEW!)
Awakening: Sword(15.5% ➔ 20%)
You have 260 unused Skill Points]
[You have to wait 127 days until you can return to your consciousness]
---
Author's Note:
Next chap will officially start the 4th Trial :D.
We're in for a wild ride.