Chapter 51

In an airship that flew over the continnent of Anima, two figures moved at extremely high speed in a close ranger fight.

Though the actual sequence of the fight could barely be seen, the sound of metal striking metal was heard every second that passed. One final clash between the two figures had them pushed back a few feet away from each other.

[*Ding!*]

[Dagger Mastery has leveled up!]

They had been traveling for three days now and Reid had spared no time in leveling up this skill. So far he had made a decent amount of progress given the fact that it had only been three days.

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Dagger Mastery[Passive][level 29]

Aura Clone[Active][level 30]

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When he himself wasn't able to continue sparring due to other things such as sleep, a clone would be made to go through the motions and forms of [Dagger Mastery] in hopes of leveling it further. It worked out in the end but the progression wasn't as fast as when he sparred with his clone.

He was currently able to make about five clones that would last a decent while before dispelling. They were able to take about two strong hits from him before dispersing, making him realize just how much closer the skill was to a shadow clone.

He let the clone in front of him dispel in a puff of smoke as a set of memories was added into his mind.

[*Ding!*]

[Dagger Mastery has leveled up!]

[Dagger Mastery has leveled up!]

[Aura Clone has leveled up!]

He and the clone had been sparing for over an hour so the already large progress he would make was doubled.

He let out a breath as the slight wave of exhaustion that hit him disappeared quickly. In the corner of the airship where nobody would bother him, a boy with red hair and cyan blue eyes sat reading a large book.

The red haired boy was another clone of Reid that was currently multitasking. It was using [Disguise Mastery] to assume a different look while reading one of the engineering book Silva provided for him.

He had made up his mind to leave no skill that would be important unattended to. Any skill that would help him avoid being stranded in any situation was a skill he would level up.

Remnant had become super reliant on technology so it was only fair for Reid to level up [Engineering] to give himself a slight advantage.

•••••••••••

Disguise Mastery[Active][level 40]

Engineering[Passive /Active][level 10]

•••••••••••

With the clone constantly being in that disguise for over 48 hours, it wasn't a surprise that the skill leveled up faster than the others.

Silva had already gotten used to the weird sight after the first day of seeing two of the same person fighting each other on the ship.

Ashton on the other hand was still shocked every time he saw it. Fortunately for Reid, it was very early in the morning and Ashton was asleep at this moment.

"Reid, come here for a moment." Silva called from the pilot seat of the airship.

The airborne vehicle was still in autopilots but he was simply making sure everything was still in order.

"What happened?" Reid asked upon reaching the piloting area.

The man looked at the boy who calmly walked in behind him. He still had trouble believing that the presence of the boy had changed this much so fast.

"We'll be landing soon. We're stopping at a village up ahead." Silva answered as the boy's eyes furrowed.

"Any particular reason?" He asked, his eyes not leaving the man's own.

"You said you wanted to get stronger, didn't you?" He asked rhetorically as the boy nosed slowly.

"Believe it or not, I used to be a huntsman. I still have my license so I still have access to huntsman missions and the likes." Silva explained.

"Going on huntsman missions is one of the ways to get stronger or at least broaden your knowledge and let you gain some experience." He explained further as Reid resisted the exasperated look on his face.

Miko had at numerous times, had him go and clear out the nearby enemies around the village. He had also briefly participated in the war. With all that in mind, he couldn't help but wonder whether the man was even listening to himself.

'You've got to be kidding me.' He thought, searching for signs of a joke or lies on the man's face but found none.

He let out a sigh as he reminded himself that there could be rewards for it and it would be an excuse to level up his skills.

"What's this mission about?" Reid asked, leaning on the side of the wall.

"There have been reports that a few huntsman and travelers have gone missing. At first it seems like nothing out of the ordinary but when you look deeper, you'll notice something."

"The ones that went missing had one thing in common; they went through a different path. A path that has Ansen village in the middle of it." Silva narrated as Reid narrowing his eye, already seeing a conspiracy.

"So we're going to investigate Ansen Village?" Reid asked but it was more like a statement than a question.

"We can't have them thinking we're searching them for mass kidnapping. We'll have to hide the ship away from their sight during that time while we go on foot." Silva explained easily.

"We might need to make a rough landing." Reid said randomly as Silva looked in confusion.

"Why do you say that?" The man asked confusedly.

The alarms in the airship began blaring and glowing as the censor lit up on the small screen. Even Ashton was woken up as the ship seemed to crash against something violently.

"What's going on!?"

"Company." Reid said plainly as a Nevermore Grimm revealed itself in front of then, smashing the front glass with their clawed legs.

Silva hurriedly operated the controls for a moment as a holographic screen appeared in their sight, showing the view behind the airship.

Numerous Nevermores were hit on their tails as they flapped through the sky. Silva had a resolute look on his face as he wheeled towards the back of the ship only for Reid to place a hand in front of him.

"You open the hatch. I'll take care of this." He said calmly as the man was a bit shaken by his declaration.

He wasn't doing it out of a need to protect or defend them or anything of the sort. He simply wanted to have more targets to test his skills and possibly level up.

Silva silently complied as a look of slight concentration appeared on his face as the hatch slowly opened.

A puff of flames surrounded Reid's palm as he walked to the edge of the hatch, brandishing his flaming hand for the monsters to see.

One of the Nevermores, seemingly believing itself to be stronger, charged towards Reid only for the boy to raise his hand as a compressed blast of fire left his hand, tearing straight through the Nevermore.

'Now, what are you going to do?' He thought, looking at the other incoming Nevermores in sight.