New Determination

[16 April 2023, 04:15 PM]

[Academy Hall]

"Hap!"

Swoosh! Tak! Tak! Tang!

The sound of wooden swords hitting each other rang in the Academy hall, which was opened after school on Zaiden's request to train himself.

He was sparring with someone in the Academy hall, and that someone was obviously me.

"Too slow!" I shouted and struck Zaiden's sword.

Due to my sudden and sharp strike, his sword was launched from his hand. With no weapon in his hand, I defeated him easily by putting my wooden sword near his neck.

"Ouch…I surrender." Zaiden stated as he raised both hands. A satisfied smile on his face made me think that he was a masochist who loved to be bullied.

"How many times have you lost already?" I smirked as I pulled my wooden sword back and held it with my left hand near my waist.

"Thirty times with this."

"And yet, you still asked for a spar. Let's end this for today."

"Yeah."

I walked toward the piles of wooden weapons while Zaiden went to pick up the wooden sword that I had knocked out earlier. I put back the wooden sword, and Zaiden walked toward me.

It had been a week since Smith made his request, and as expected, the rumors about me living with a beautiful girl had spread around the Academy. Thankfully, the news only circulated among the students, so I didn't need to take the measure of asking someone from the Merchant Store to delete the news.

Some of the rumors were just the fantasies of the students. There was even a rumor that Chloe was, in fact, my sister. That rumor was spread due to the similarities of our hair and eye color, which were black and red, respectively.

Chloe had also told me about her Talent after we went home from Smith's place. I already knew about it, so I was never curious about it. Her Talents were similar to Zaiden's, but instead of Swordsmanship, she had Polemanship Talent, which allowed her to use any pole-shaped weapons, including a spear, lance, or halberd.

A day after I met with Smith, Zaiden came to me for a spar. As promised, I sparred with him almost every day after the classes ended. I went to Smith's place at the weekend and built my strength to hunt some monsters that were adept at illusion on a field located in Japan.

Fortunately, Smith didn't give me a deadline, which meant his request was not that urgent. I could rest easy a bit.

Chloe also trained herself at night in the underground area. I taught her the Heavenly Breathing Method, hoping that it would suit her, and it did. She was able to make fast progress with her strength, and she said that she was almost advancing to A-Rank.

"But Vincent, I never thought that you lived with someone that beautiful." Zaiden spoke while getting a towel from his bag, located near the pile of wooden weapons. He wiped the sweat off his face as he looked at me with a bright smile.

"Look who was talking about a beautiful girl. Aren't you surrounded by many?" I picked up my bag that I put near Zaiden's.

"Hahahaha. Well, that's true. Anyway, thanks for sparring with me today too."

"No problem. Don't forget to put ointment on the bruises on your body."

"I will." He answered shortly. There was a hint of loneliness in his eyes.

Come to think of it, he would be an Awakener in five days. He needed to leave the Academy at that time if he wanted to get stronger to face future events.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked him, and he scratched his cheek.

"Hahaha… Nothing. It's just… If one of us ever Awakens in the future, do you think we can still spar like this?"

"Hah?" I huffed. "What are you talking about, you bastard? If we Awaken in the future, I will be able to beat you easily. Why are you talking as if we will never see each other again?"

Whether you like it or not, I will be by your side, Zaiden. You didn't need to worry about me going missing or something. If I was not by your side, who would make you stronger? Who would make you suffer?

You are a fucking cheat character. Combined with your knowledge from your previous life memories, you were technically unbeatable until the latter half of the story.

I hoped I could tell him all of that.

However, I was Vincent. I was an Extra. I was not supposed to know anything.

"Don't ever think of beating me even after you Awaken as an Awakener. At that time, I will remind you how you lost against me and won't hold back like today. Remember that."

"Yeah..You're right. I see… So I can do that too. I don't need to disappear even after I am Awakened. I can stay while having a spar with you again." Zaiden began to mutter something incomprehensible.

This guy. What did he plan? He wasn't thinking of staying at the academy, right?

I shouldn't run my mouth like that. This fucker must've thought that he didn't need to leave the girls. Feeling that he would declare something unnecessary, I quickly added.

"However, Zaiden."

"Yes?" He asked. His face had a hit of newfound determination.

"If you choose to stay at the Academy even after you are Awakened, I will fucking hate you. If you become an Awakened, you should build your strength by training yourself or raiding some dungeons. You know that the Hero appears at this age, right?"

"…"

His face changed once again. He fell into deep thought. I didn't know what he was thinking about, but I bet it was something along the lines of saving the world or something. After all… this Zaiden was a kind man who had a hero complex.

Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I walked away as I waved at him with my free hand.

"Well, I will leave it to you when that time comes. But, I will leave this Academy as soon as I become an Awakener."

Then I walked away, leaving Zaiden behind in the hall.

***

Zaiden stood alone in the hall while complementing what his friend said earlier.

"Of course, I know about it." He muttered to himself as he clenched his fist that held the towel. "How can I not know about it?"

In fact, he also knew about something far more dangerous than a mere Demon King. He was always anxious about that.

"I know that I need to get stronger as fast as I can, Vincent."

He put his towel back into his bag after he wiped his sweat clean. There was a determined gaze burning in his eyes.

"You will leave the decision to me, huh?"

Picking up his back, he then started to walk out of the hall.

"Then, isn't the answer obvious?" His lips curled into a grin. "Five days… I will use that time wisely to live my life to the fullest."

Because after five days, he would be Awakened as an Awakener. Starting from that, various incidents involving him would happen. He didn't know when he would be able to meet with his friends again.

The responsibility that the man called Zaiden held was big. He was the supposed Savior of this world, though the world didn't know about him… yet.

"Don't worry. I will work hard, and I won't fall into despair." He said confidently. "Because I am strong."

That day, Zaiden gained another motivation to get stronger thanks to his friend. Even so, he didn't know about the creeping shadow that planned to interfere in the future events involving him. The shadow called Rai.

"Also… I don't want to disappoint my friend."

***

[House]

[05:00 PM]

"I am home!" I exclaimed loudly as I closed the door behind me.

This had become my routine ever since I lived with her. For some reason, she wanted me to announce my arrival because she wanted to greet me back. And so, I started to look forward to her greeting.

"Welcome back!" Answered Chloe. Her voice came from inside, more specifically, the Kitchen.

I walked through the hallway, passed the living room, and arrived at the kitchen. Chloe was standing in front of a stove while wearing an apron. There was a pot on the stove; it was closed by a tight glass lid, and Chloe was looking at it intensely. She opened the lid, and immediately, a pleasing aroma of spice hit my nose. I instantly knew what she was trying to make.

"Oh? You're making curry?"

"Yes, how do you know?" Asked Chloe as she scooped a little bit of brown substance from the pot. She smelled it a little before putting it into her mouth. "Hn~" A small moan of delight escaped her mouth.

"I made a lot of curry in the past, so I knew about it."

"Really? Then I hope this one fits your taste." Said Chloe. She turned the stove off and turned to me; her lips were curled in a smile.

"I hope so. Let me help you with serving."

I approached the shelf where the plates were stored and took two long plates and two spoons that were usually used to serve curry rice. I used the skill that I sharpened when I lived alone and threw the plate on the dining table. It flew smoothly and landed on the table gently without making a sound.

"Perfect." I nodded satisfyingly and turned to Chloe.

She was holding the pot while using the potholder in both hands. She put the pot in the middle of the table before throwing the potholder inside her magic bag that she always wore around her waist.

"Vincent, can you bring the rice cooker to the table?"

"On it."

I went to the kitchen, opened the rice cooker, pulled out the pot that was filled with rice, and brought it to the table beside the steaming hot pot filled with curry.

It had now become a daily routine as Chloe became more comfortable with me. We were doing anything while knowing what each other needed, as if we had lived under the same roof for a long time. Maybe it was because I created Chloe based on my fantasy of an ideal girlfriend? But I was also comfortable living together with her.

Chloe scooped the rice onto her plate without saying anything, and I did the same to my plate. She then put the curry on my plate first before putting it on her plate.

"Thank you." I smiled at her.

"No problem. I love doing this." She replied back with a bright smile.

At the time, I was thinking that maybe living like this might not be bad; it might be better to hide somewhere and live peacefully. However, this kind of life would only last for five more days, as the first act would start after Zaiden Awakened, in five days.

As we ate our curry rice in delight, I spoke in a low voice. "Chloe… Let's hit the field tomorrow."

"Hmm?" She mumbled. Her mouth was filled with rice to the brim. She swallowed the rice in her mouth before asking. "Do you need money?"

"No, I want to get stronger. I feel like I am getting close to advancing to D-Rank. At least I want to advance to D-Rank in three days."

"I see. What field do you want to visit? The D-Rank Forest Wolves in New York or the C-Rank Kobold Field in Chicago?"

"I was thinking of going to the Forest Wolves one. You are about to advance to A-Rank too, right? Maybe you can advance after we kill some Forest Wolves. Though the mana gained from killing monsters is not as efficient as using the Mana Breathing Method."

She nodded her head as she stuffed her mouth with another spoonful of curry. "Un. I know that. I also don't mind going to the New York one."

"Good." I smiled, stuffed my mouth with a spoonful of rice and curry before swallowing it.

"Let's get [Party Bracelet] at Park Injun's place tomorrow before going to New York. I need to secure an Artifact from the Forest Wolves Field while we are hunting, so we can kill two birds with one stone."

"Hmm? An Artifact?"

"Yup. This one is a nasty Artifact that's perfect for a sharpshooter like me."

I then opened my status to see the change after training for three weeks.

-----

Status

Name: Vincent Dihart

Rank: E

Strength: D-

Agility: D-

Endurance: D-

Mana: D+

Luck: S

Talent:

- Sharpshooting (S)

- Enhancement (S)

- Swordsmanship (A)

- Magic (A)

Trait:

- Deceitful

-----

I grinned while looking at the translucent screen in front of me.

'Come at me, main story. I will be ready as soon as I get my hands on that Artifact.'