Summer Sunshine

A full day had passed since everybody had begun their training. Many stat boosts and explosions of spells later, it was safe to say everyone was ready to face Chapter 3. They had yet to know what it was all about, but Magnus was confident that even with no clue what they were going up against, they wouldn't encounter a huge problem.

While everybody else was still getting their well-deserved sleep, Magnus exited the house and went into the backyard. He crossed his arms and shook his head, seeing the sight in front of him. The place truly had been turned upside down. The before-and-after view, if showed side by side, would definitely shock anybody. The place was unrecognizable after only 24 hours had passed. The grass was no more, the patio had been emptied, the chairs and tables were all stacked up on one corner, there were scorch marks on the ground, some spots on the soil even had traces of infertility after being assaulted by darkness element.

At some point, Victoria could be seen looking solemnly at her backyard. But she never uttered a single complaint; she knew it was nobody's fault. It wasn't as if she would have guests attending a barbeque party anytime soon, what with everybody seeking power and killing each other, amongst other typical apocalyptic things.

Magnus could hear light footsteps approaching him from behind; he knew right away it was his girlfriend. Apparently, she had just woken up. Observing her boyfriend's body language, it seemed as if she thought he was a little bothered by the sight before him.

He wasn't, though. He really couldn't care less.

Summer hugged him from behind, much to Magnus' happiness. He smiled, unfolded his arms, and softly clasped his hands on hers. "Morning," he greeted her.

"Oh, it's morning?" she asked, half-chuckling. "The night is never-ending, though. And it messes up with my biological clock."

"You'll get used to it."

The couple stayed silent for a few minutes after that. It was a peaceful moment, and the two enjoyed each other's company. Magnus could hear her steady heartbeat, and it made him feel a lot closer to her.

"I have a theory," Summer finally broke the silence while moving to his side. "What if I applied light element mana onto the ground? Would it recover the ruined soil?"

For a moment, Magnus widened his eyes. Memories flooded his mind, awakening all the emotions that came with them. What Summer just described was a skill called [Rapid Growth]. It was a skill that breathed life into the soil, producing all kinds of vegetations that grew in a matter of seconds.

It had been Alana's signature skill as a wood elf.

On its MAX level, the skill could be used as both offense and defense. As well as a means for producing all kinds of tools. In fact, Magnus and Alana's log house had been built using the woods harvested from the tress grown using the same skill.

Magnus had never thought Summer would've come up with the idea of the skill all on her own. It was as if a part of her was still Alana.

He turned to stare at his girlfriend. In his eyes, the image of Alana's straight, whitish blond hair and her pale green face overlapped with Summer's curly brown hair and caramel skin tone. Their eyes, especially, exuded a similar Aura. Perhaps even souls possessed their own Auras.

However, beyond that similarity, there were differences between the two girls. Maybe it was brought about by the jarringly disparate life experiences both individuals had gone through, along with their current set principles and overall views of life.

When it came to personalities, both were calm, patient, and sensible people. However, their similarities only extended so far. Alana, for example, was more confident, decisive, and assured of herself. She had a firm grip on her wants and needs, and almost always knew what she was doing. In fact, she had initially looked down on Magnus the first time they met. She hadn't liked him very much in the beginning.

Summer, on the other hand, had her own little insecurities. However, she was more accepting of people, and had higher level of tolerance towards different kinds of characters. She was also able to read people better than Alana.

In other words, Summer wasn't Alana, and Magnus needed to impress this realization deep in his mind. Just because they possessed the same soul, didn't meant they were the same person. Slowly, Magnus had begun to truly accept his wife's passing, and the person standing before him right now was not her, nor could she ever become her replacement.

He loved Alana, but she was not here anymore. That part of his life had been closed, and all he could do now was cherish his memories of her. In short, he needed to move on.

Magnus raised his hand and gently touched Summer's cheek, feeling her smooth skin as her curly bangs brushed against the top of his thumb. As the image of Alana faded out, he could finally see Summer's half-blushing, half-questioning face.

He was able to truly see her as Summer Murphy, his lovely girlfriend. And he loved her not because she possessed the same soul as Alana, nor was it because she reminded him of her. He loved Summer for who she really was.

He hadn't expected how relieved and happy this realization would've made him. A tender smile crept on his face as he leaned in to kiss her. "Summer," he whispered her name lovingly. The name was truly fitting, like a bright sun that offered him warmth and joy. He finally, truly understood the meaning behind the nickname Patrick Murphy gave his daughter—Summer Sunshine.

Meanwhile, Summer herself couldn't make heads or tails of what had come over her boyfriend. She was just asking him about an idea for a new skill, and suddenly he started looking all melancholic. However, when he touched her cheek and kissed her on the lips, all kinds of speculation and her guesses of what was taking place in his mind instantly flew out out the window.

The two shared a passionate kiss before the sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted them.

"So uuh," a tall and blond Russian girl said awkwardly. She had just popped out of the door into the backyard. "I just need to err…head over there and start training again, if you don't mind."

Summer tried to look away to hide her blushing while Magnus smiled and said, "Sure, go ahead." He then noticed Katja holding [Tempest] in her hand. "Trying to level up your [Marksmanship]?"

Katja nodded. "Uhuh. I'm so excited I got the skill yesterday. I can't wait to get more proficient at it."

She had managed to increase [Thunderbolt] to level 3 yesterday, but then she got bored and decided to pull out her crossbow. The weapon already had a wind element active skill. All she needed to do was imbue her mana into it and watch as a bolt made of air start to take form. At first, she kept firing it onto the white barrier, but then thought she needed to practice her aim. So she conveyed this to Magnus.

He then built her a training dummy out of earth. Not the most ideal material, as he had to constantly expend mana to renew it once it got destroyed. But hey, they had to make do with what they had. However, now that Summer had pitched her idea to learn [Rapid Growth], maybe she could create a couple of shooting targets out of wood. He figured it would be a better material.

Katja positioned herself a few meters in front of the earth dummy that had been left standing since their last training session. She raised [Tempest] and aimed the wind bolt at the dummy's chest. She pulled the trigger, releasing the bolt. It shot at great speed and planted its tip onto its target. She didn't quite hit the mark, though—the mark being the spot where the heart should be. However, she had definitely improved since yesterday.

Having totally forgotten about the awkward moment earlier, she finally got in the groove and kept practicing her shots. In her t-shirt and sweatpants. And slippers.

Katja was not the only one improving, though. Pretty much everybody now had learned at least two skills. Magnus had decided manually narrate a new skill to TJ, who in turn taught it to his father, who then taught it to Mei. It was called [Line of Fire], a defense skill that created a wall of fire. He had to expend 250 AP for this.

Magnus had also taught his mother [Tidal Wave] in a defensive style, although the skill could be used for both offense and defense. He had also spent some time teaching the Wang twins to combine their element mana and create [Ice Wall]. Another defense skill he'd taught was [Eye of The Storm], which produced a tornado surrounding the caster. The tornado would protect them out of any incoming projectile. However, it was quite a loud and messy skill, as it had contributed to at least half of the destruction in the backyard. Henry was the one who had been imparted with this skill.

Oh, and Matt had registered his boxing skill—a skill he actually already possessed prior to the Prolog—in the system. However, the system called it [Hand to Hand Combat]. The skill went quite well with his [Thunder Catcher] gauntlets, as the weapon had a passive skill of electrocuting the enemy when the user landed a successful punch. The electrocution itself dealt little damage, but it had the effect of paralyzing the opponent for a few seconds.

Garrett, too, had begun to implement his weapon, [Friendly Fire], into his training. The C-rank staff had a skill called [Rapid Fire] that could produce three mini [Flamethrower] per second.

On another note, Lisa and Victoria had successfully learned [Flight]. So that was certainly a great addition to their mobility and scouting ability.

There were also a couple more improvement made by the others, which satisfied Magnus greatly. In the original Universe, there was no way they could've had the time and opportunity to practice while growing stronger like this. Overall, everyone just needed to polish their skills for a bit more. They only had about half a day before Chapter 3 began, after all.