Resting (1)

"Stronger! Harder! Harder! Is that all the power you can generate? Weakling!" shouted Master Jerrin, with his hoarse and cold voice full of a commanding tone.

Heeding his order, I tried to kick the punching bag harder. My legs had almost given out from the constant kicking for the past hour, but I needed to get stronger!

"Kick with your entire leg, not just with your feet!" shouted Master Jerrin again.

I was! I was kicking with my entire leg! If this old man thinks I should do better, why doesn't he just show me instead of barking orders while comfortably reclining on his chair?

After hours more of mindlessly kicking with all my strength, I fell to the ground, barely having the power to gasp for air.

"Even if they weren't that powerful, you at least completed more than two thousand kicks. When I was fourteen years old, like you, I could easily complete five thousand kicks in a day," said Master Jerrin with a smirk as he walked towards me with a bottle of water in his hand.

"Drink up! You still have to do three thousand punches!" said Master as he threw the bottle at me.

Without wasting a moment, I grabbed the bottle and gulped down the entire one litre of water stored inside. The water tasted like heaven itself, probably because of my exhaustion.

Sometimes the thought crossed my mind that Master Jerrin was what Satan would look like if he ever visited Earth. He was in his mid-forties with greying hair and a thick moustache.

His eyes were as blue as the sky, and his skin was slightly tanned. He usually liked wearing baggy clothes, most probably to hide his body, which was toned and shaped to perfection.

Cuts and slashes were scattered around his body, with a few bullet wounds here and there. Before becoming an MMA coach, he was in the special forces, but whenever I asked about it, he would always change the topic. His days in the special forces probably weren't the most memorable and joyful.

As I barely managed to stand up on my exhausted legs and began slowly walking towards the punching bag, Master Jerrin said, "Nox, you must remember, the only thing trustworthy enough in this world, is your own body. In order to become truly strong, your soul and body should be the same."

I was surprised. Why did Master suddenly start giving life advice? Was it because he pitied my hopeless state? I also agree that sometimes I feel hopeless about my physique. After all, years of a sedentary lifestyle weakened my body to a point I had imagined unrecoverable.

As if reading my mind, the Master said, "You must never lose hope. Even if all the others around you fall and you think that everything has become hopeless, you must never forget a simple fact. No matter how dark the night is, it can never hide the glow of a single lamp."

No matter how dark the night is, it can never hide the glow of a single lamp...

.

.

.

My eyes suddenly opened. Was it a dream? A memory? Why did I dream of Master Jerrin right now?

I was fighting the great wolf, and then I fell unconscious. Did I win?

I examined the area around me. I could see a rock wall. Was I in a cave? The smell of moss and rocks in the confined space filled my nose. I could hear the movement of water splashing on rocks far away.

After a little struggle, I was finally able to sit up straight. A campfire was lit in front of me. Liam and Elizabeth were sitting on either side of the fire.

"Sir!" Shouted Liam with a joyful tone.

"Nox! You are finally awake!" yelled Elizabeth as she rushed to my side.

"Sis, come inside! Sir is finally awake!" Shouted Liam, looking towards the cave entrance. Soon after, Ignis came inside. The sibling duo then rushed to sit beside me.

"How long was I out for?" I asked.

"Around two days!" exclaimed Elizabeth, "We thought that you had really gone to the other side!"

I was unconscious for two entire days!

"How are we in a cave right now?" I asked.

"After you killed the wolf, we followed the river and eventually found this cave. We thought it best to rest till you regained consciousness, "replied Elizabeth.

"But sir! How did you even defeat that beast?! The way you fought was almost otherworldly!" asked Liam, his voice full of admiration.

Explaining the whole Library thing would be too hectic right now. Maybe I should come up with a random excuse?

"We can talk about that later, Liam. He needs to rest right now too," said Ignis as she shuffled Liam's hair.

"Anyways, we are alive only thanks to you!" said Elizabeth, displaying a huge and honest smile.

"All of us acquired new skills and levelled up after you killed the Great Wolf," explained Ignis.

New skills? Let me check too…

STATUS!

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Name: Nox Mill

Level: 5

Title: Librarian(SS), The Great Snake's protege(S), Wolf Slayer(A)

Stat points: 6

Stats-

Strength: 31

Agility: 29

Perception: 30

Stamina: 35

Intelligence: 41

Arcane: 10/10

Status Effects:

None

Active skills:

Anatomical Liberation (A)

Weakness Sight (A)

Dash(B)

Passive Skills:

Ability to enter The Eternal Library(Mythic)

Mana Manipulation(A)

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{Author: I changed the status screen a little}

Did I level up? Not only that, I acquired a title and even a new skill.

Dash!

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Dash(B)

Gain the ability to multiply your agility by 2 for 10 seconds.

Cooldown: 10 minutes.

Proficiency: 0%

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Wolf sayer!

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Title: Wolf slayer(B)

A title that is given to a player proficient in hunting wolves.

Experience gained by hunting wolves is increased by 40%.

**********

These are super useful! I guess it was worth fighting that wolf.

"Sir, take a look at these," said Liam, as he went to grab something that was lying beside the fire.

He came back with some teeth and claws in his hand. Were these the Great Wolf's?

"Eli said that we should salvage whatever we can from the wolf," said Ignis when she noticed me examining the teeth and claws.

"Well, I thought the wolf's teeth and claws were pretty strong and sharp. And since both I and Nox broke our weapons, we may be able to use them as weapons," responded Elizabeth, her face suddenly red.

"You did the right thing," I said, assuring Elizabeth.

"AH! I totally forgot! Eat these!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she gave me some fruits lying behind her.

"We found those fruits on the trees just outside the cave. We already ate them, so they are pretty safe," Elizabeth said as she handed me a fruit that looked like a yellow apple.

I bit into the apple-like fruit. WHAT! My mind! My mind is getting blown away!

This sweetness! This flavour! This texture!! Is this what God eats??

Help me!! This perfect harmony between sweetness and sourness is overwhelming me !!

As soon as the fruit touched my tongue, it instantaneously melted!! Its flavour spread throughout my mouth, and its nectar flowed down my oesophagus!!! Not to mention the super soft texture!

AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!! I love this !! I don't care if this is all I can consume for the rest of my life !!

After finishing the fruit, I reached for another from the pile. WHAT!

"Where did all the fruit go!?" I asked, in a tone which may have been a little too loud.

The three people looked at me with eyes full of amazement and shock.

"Ahh, sir," said Liam, stuttering.

"You already..." Continued Ignis.

"Ate all of them," said Elizabeth, finishing the sentence.

How? Were they playing tricks on me?

All three of them suddenly burst out laughing. Ignis and Liam rolled on the floor, unable to control their laughter, while Elizabeth covered her mouth with her hand, trying to maintain some elegance.

Were they serious?

"Don't worry! We had the same experience when we first tasted it," consolated Elizabeth, in between her laughter.

I, too, burst out laughing, maybe at my own display of naivety in front of these strangers.

Was I getting too comfortable around these people? Even if I shared life and death experiences with them, maintaining my vigilance around them is the right thing to do.

Anyway, it is pretty dangerous to stay in the same place for too long. More wolves may come, or we may run out of things to consume.

"Did you guys rest yet?" I asked.

"Yup! For the past four or five hours, Eli had been guarding the entrance while Sis and I were sleeping. Eli came in about ten minutes before you woke up," Liam answered.

"Did you sleep yet?" I asked Elizabeth.

"Not a lot, but I have enough energy to carry on for some time more," she replied.

That's not going to work. We all need to be well-rested before we continue with our exploration.

"Rest for some time, Elizabeth. We will be heading back into the forest in a few hours," I informed the team as I got up.

"That makes sense," Said Elizabeth, lying down. I guess she must have been really exhausted.

Even though the faces of the siblings showed doubt, most probably due to my decision to head back into the forest, they didn't ask anything.

I picked up the great wolf's claws and teeth from the ground and turned to the sibling duo.

"Both of you should rest a little too. I will stand guard till then," I said as I headed for the cave entrance.

"Okay sir," replied Liam.

"Sure," replied Ignis.

On reaching the cave entrance, I was greeted by the brightly shining moon and stars. The cave's entrance was surrounded by a clearing of about fifty metres, which most probably made it very difficult for any foes to appear this night.

I sat on a rock outside the cave's entrance and looked up at the sky. Were the stars always this beautiful? The stars twinkled in different colours, some in blue, some in white, some in red and some in yellow. The moon was also stunningly beautiful tonight.

This serene scene could never have been witnessed by my eyes in the cities, where the sky was covered not with clouds but polluted air, making witnessing the true marvel of the stars impossible.

Sceneries like these were only visible when I climbed Everest and explored the amazon.

The memories of my former days of being a survival expert and guide came back to me.

All of a sudden, my memories overflowed my mind. The days I explored the Amazon, climbed Everest, sailed to the Antarctic and explored the Indian and Alaskan forests. Ahh... those were enjoyable days...

It was all mainly because Master Jerrin forced me to explore the 'real dangers' of the world.

Master was more than just my teacher. He was my friend, father, mother, uncle, aunt, and even brother.

His murder was the main reason that led me to become a private investigator. Was what I did at that time the right thing to do?

Violently shaking my head, I shook off these thoughts and memories of the past. It was no use thinking about the past!

I wonder how much longer this "Tutorial" will last?

And if this was just the tutorial, then what kind of hell would The Tower even be?