Chapter 18 Rectifying past mistakes

Two days later came the day I had been waiting for—the day of my entrance test for the Dojo.

That morning, Maria came to see me after breakfast as I was going to the home gym for training. She looked pretty excited, with her wide smile and her tail wagging.

"Young Mistress Alice, I have great news !"

I didn't like her calling me "young Mistress". I didn't mind Andrea and the other maids calling me that, but Maria was my dear friend. My displeasure must have shown on my face because Maria was caught off guard.

 "Is there something wrong, young Mistress," Maria asked me with puppy eyes, her wolf ears flat on her head.

Hearing her calling me that again, I couldn't help but heave a sigh of exasperation.

"Maria, I already told you at least a hundred times to call me by my name when we are not in a formal setting."

Hearing that, Maria started to pout.

"I know, but last time, I got scolded by my mother when she overheard our conversation."

"I understand. I will go talk to Andrea later. You are my friend and the first member of our future party. She needs to stop trying to make you my maid," I said 

"I tried to explain it to her, but she began ranting about the household reputation and how people will spread rumors."

"Your mom is too serious. My mother doesn't care about those things inside the house. Let's drop the subject. What did you want to tell me?"

Maria's excitement came back as quickly as it was gone. Her mood changes were always funny to me. Because of her bubbly personality and cute demeanor, I often had to fight the urge to pet her head or hug her in public.

 "The Master has accepted your application to the Dojo. Usually, he doesn't accept students from noble families. Still, he made an exception for you because he respects the Wright Family. Your entrance test will be in two days."

"Do you know how the entrance test goes?"

"Yes, of course. First, you will have to go through an interview. After that, you will have a spar against one of the senior disciples. Of course, your opponent will have his cultivation sealed and will only use the Basic Universal Combat Style against you."

As soon as I heard that, I got a cold sweat running down my back.

"I'm screwed," I thought.

You see, I had a very different personality before I remembered my past life and experiences. I grew up in a loving and wealthy family, which led me to develop a lazy personality. My mother did try to make me change my ways. Still, my doting father always defended me, and even if she was infinitely more powerful than him, my mother could never win any argument against him.

All of that changed when my two lives merged. All was not negative. My upbringing actually healed a lot of my past wounds. I felt loved and more confident, but my past attitude left severe gaps in my knowledge and training. 

That's why I had to devote some of my time to studying. I had prioritized general knowledge over martial arts training, thinking it would be more beneficial when I started school. I counted on using my training in the Dojo to improve my level.

I forced myself to smile at Maria to hide my nervousness.

"That's great; I'm really excited about it," I said

Fortunately for me, Maria had to leave for her daily training.

 The Basic Universal Combat Style was developed a few centuries ago when the Freedom Federation was established. The idea behind it was to provide everybody with a chance to start training in martial arts. Since martial arts are closely linked with cultivation, the practice of the Basic Universal Combat Style allowed anyone to have a chance and allowed the government to detect anyone with good potential.

The practice of the Basic Universal Combat Style is mandatory for every child older than 5. Commoners Practice it in training centers run by the state. My mother hired a private instructor to teach me, but I hardly learned anything because of my laziness. 

Today, I decided to go to my personal training room instead of the gym. 

"I fucked up. I thought that I was going to be tested on my fitness. I should have trained my Martial Arts instead." I thought

As I was walking, I tried to recall all my knowledge about the Basic Universal Combat Style.

I could hardly remember anything. I was starting to think about an excuse to avoid the test and try to pass it at a later date. But I realized that doing that going that would make me lose a lot of time. I couldn't make a decision until something hit me. 

"I am trying to run away from hardship again. I swore to myself to stop doing that. If there is any possibility, I have to at least try my best. Hell, if I don't, what is the system good for."

As soon as my decision was made, I heard a system notification.

<Ding >

<The host has discovered a new goal>

<The goal is deemed achievable in the short term>

<The system is now generating an instant quest>

<The quest "Rectifying past mistakes" has been created.>

<Please consult the Quests tab for more information>

Seeing the system's notification, I immediately opened it. The Quests tab that was previously grayed was now accessible. I immediately opened it. There was a single quest in it.

<Instant Quest: Rectifying past mistakes: You are currently cursing at your self for her laziness. have two days to do everything you can salvage the situation.< p>

Description: The entrance test to the Dojo you chose minimum requirement for your mastery of the Basic Universal Combat Style is the beginner level. Pass the exam to clear this quest.

Difficulty: C

Rewards: 10 free stats points, 100 shop coins, extra reward if the objective is exceeded>

I was delighted. The rewards were going to be a huge help, but I couldn't help but be disappointed in the reward amount.

"Hey, Mimi, why are the rewards for this quest lower than those for my other missions?" 

[Are you really complaining about receiving free stuff?] Emily laughs. [Reward for Quests are generally 5 times lower than for Dream Missions. You can compare them to a side quest in an RPG.]

"I guess I can't complain. At least there is no penalty if I fail. I always hated this trope in novels. Why are authors always torturing their main characters."

[Sorry, but your system originally had penalties or failure, but that feature was deactivated because you received it as compensation. Every other system holders have to deal with that]

Just the thought of it gave me the chills. I really couldn't complain. 

As I arrived at my training room, I opened the system store and searched for the Basic Universal Combat Style inside the Skill Shop, but I couldn't find it. Even using the search tool didn't help.

When I asked Mimi, she was initially as dumbfounded as me since such a skill should be available even at my level. This quest didn't have any restrictions, either. After a while, she found out why.

[ Since you have already learned the skill, you can't purchase it even if you have forgotten most of it.]

At first, I thought I was really screwed and was starting to feel depressed. But While scrolling through the Items Shop, I found two items that gave me some hope to succeed.