Hardcore Fantasy – Chapter 16: Secrets not so secret

"…" – Everyone at the table stared at Elizabeth with surprise written on their faces.

For them, in the little time they got to know her, she was always the easy-going and friendly person, the caring big sister. So seeing her being so cold out of nowhere was quite a surprise, with the most surprised being obviously Melody, who had no idea Elizabeth had such a side.

"Huh?" – Olivia furrowed her brows – "I asked Akihiko." – She rebuked.

"And I answered the obvious." – Elizabeth's sharp answer further sent Melody into disarray, making her increasingly lost as to what was happening.

Noticing that Elizabeth was being unusually aggressive, Akihiko tapped her shoulder and conveyed something to her.

"Huh?" – Elizabeth blinked her eyes, slightly surprised for being called out by him, however, she nodded, albeit sulking a little – "He said that he thanks you for the offer but he isn't interested in those things." – She translated.

"?" – This time, everyone at the table was confused.

"You aren't interested in this… You mean sex?'' – Darlan asked curiously.

Akihiko nodded and started to eat his food.

"T-That's rare." – Nyza chimed in, unsure of how to react to it.

The others were also surprised by it, after all, around a little more than a century ago, sex turned into something far more casual and somewhat of an entertainment. Especially with the extremely high mortality rate that the war has, sex has become the best way for those on the battlefield to relax.

So he saying that he isn't interested in it, is curious, to say the least.

"…" – Olivia remained silent but eventually sighed – "That's a pity then. Though, if you change your mind, my offer still stands." – She beamed a smile at him before starting to devour her food.

*Crack*

"…" – Elizabeth gazed down and saw her fork snapped in half. Calmly putting that away, she took another one and continued to eat.

"W-What are you interested in, then?" – Beatrix shily asked.

The others from Akihiko's group also looked at him, curious to know more. In the few minutes they have been with Akihiko's childhood friend, they got to know more about him than during the three weeks of their training.

Elizabeth glanced at her childhood friend and saw him not answering, so she took the matter into her own hands. A smile appeared on her lips – "Training, killing monsters, drinks, and drawing." 

"Huh? That is it?" – Lathz asked with a slightly surprised expression.

"Yeah, surprising, right?" – Elizabeth answered while glancing at Akihiko from the corner of her eyes.

"Yes…" – Diana chimed in, and her answer was the same as everyone's.

"…" – Melody silently watched the whole exchange, the more she heard Elizabeth speak about her childhood friend, the more she was sure that he wasn't in the game.

'Did he die in the game?' – Beside him being an extra, that was the only other plausible conclusion she could think.

As they casually chatted over old memories and less-known facts about Akihiko, the bio-system of everyone in the cafeteria beeped.

"Huh?" – Elizabeth opened hers and noticed she got a new message.

Reading through its contents, her joy diminished a little before she, along with the others got up.

"Right when it was getting good…" – Elizabeth clicked her tongue. They were all ordered to present themselves in specific rooms, where they would undergo a medical exam.

"Well, it happens." – Roxanne stated as they started to walk toward the door, taking advantage that not many people were doing the same.

"…" – Akihiko silently followed them before his feline ears twitched slightly.

'3…' – He suddenly picked up three presences using a familiar technique to him – 'Seems that mom was worried about her.' 

They kept following the now-calmer hallway before eventually arriving at a section filled with white doors, with each door having a number on it.

"Well, see you all after the exam." – Elizabeth bid them a brief goodbye and entered one of the doors.

The others soon went to the door they were assigned to and entered.

Opening his door, Akihiko arrived at a fully white room with only a desk and two chairs.

Behind the desk, a woman with short black hair and a white lab coat was sitting on one of the chairs.

"Examinee Akihiko, I assume." – She calmly asked while her black eyes scanned the young man before her.

"…" – Akihiko nodded and walked toward the chair.

"Please take a seat, the exam shouldn't take long." – She tapped the desk and some strange machinery with runes engraved on it appeared from the ground.

Akihiko took a seat and waited.

"Let's see…" – The woman picked up a tablet-like device and Akihiko's medical data appeared on it – "Your health seems to be okay overall and doesn't show any particular problem… I will do a check-up along with a more in-depth scan, and then you will be free to go." – She put the tablet down and moved toward the machine.

Sensing her getting behind it and activating the magic that powered the machine, Akihiko relaxed his body.

"You might feel a bit uncomfortable but please bear with it for a moment." – The doctor spoke and tapped on a specific rune on the machine's control panel.

The machine lit up with green light and a magic circle appeared beneath Akihiko's chair.

Akihiko felt something prickling his skin but the sensation was so negligible that he paid it no mind.

After a few minutes passed, the machine's light dimmed down and the doctor walked back to her desk.

"I have checked your whole body and besides some small traces of malice, there's nothing wrong with you." – She cast a glance at his arm and then neck, looking at the bizarre scar there – "Beside those two. You're free to go, take a rest for the rest of the day." – She added.

Akihiko nodded and got up before walking toward the door.

'She isn't even hiding it.' – He thought while pretending not to notice who this doctor was and that a spell had been removed from his body.

Exiting the room, Akihiko was faced with Elizabeth looking at him with a strange glint in her eyes.

Not saying anything, he nodded at her and her eyes flashed with understanding.

"I swear, mom isn't showing them any face…" – She whispered with mild annoyance but also a tinge of gratefulness – "Aki, can I…" – She trailed off but he knew what she wanted and nodded.

Elizabeth's face lit up with visible joy and her eyes glowed.

"Thank you, Aki." – She whispered before turning toward the other doors that started to open.

"…" – Akihiko also turned his face to the others who got out of the rooms.

"Let's go back to the dormitories?" – Elizabeth suggested and the others nodded.

As they walked down the hallway, Elizabeth was in a visibly good mood and humming a song.

The reason was the floating panel before her eyes.

[Name: Akihiko (?)

Age: 25 (?)

Gender: Male

Class: Shinobi

Type: Finisher

Titles: Reincarnator / Ghost of the Nameless / Shinobi / Self-made "monster"

Talent(s): All-language

Rank: ⭐⭐

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Skills

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Stealth

Astral weaponry

High dexterity

Ninjutsu

Mystical Arts

Weapon Mastery 

Poison

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Sacrificial skills

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¨$#&@#¨$@%@#¨$&%&$ ?

Last Second

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Side notes

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Malice: 5%

Tracking spell on (spellcaster: Elizabeth van Ordo)

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Mood

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Calm

Aware of the tracking spell

Wants to train] 

Humming a song with her melodic voice, Elizabeth felt at ease now that she renewed the tracking spell on him since it had been removed after the exam a few minutes earlier.

'Why did you put a tracking spell on him?' – Elizabeth's master suddenly asked.

'Because I want to protect him.' – Elizabeth answered in a heartbeat – 'He's my childhood friend at all.'

'…' – Elizabeth's master fell silent before heaving a sigh – '*Sigh* You're probably the only one who thinks this.' – She commented, referring to Elizabeth seeing him only as a childhood friend.

'Huh?' – The person herself didn't understand what her master meant.

'Nothing, Elizabeth, nothing.' – Elizabeth's master felt a headache, she knew that her disciple was dense, she observed her lack of awareness in the rearguard base when the other examinees showed clear interest in her and yet, she remained unaware until Akihiko told her about it. However, she didn't expect her denseness to be this exaggerated.

'Okay then…' – Elizabeth found her master's words odd but put them aside and kept revising the screen in front of her.

No matter how many times she saw it or how many other screens she saw, none was as interesting to her as Akihiko's.

Maybe it was because she knew how he managed to painfully obtain those few skills, a number that most women are born with. Perhaps, she felt a sense of pride for him every time she saw his screen.

As for him being a reincarnator, she didn't care much about it. She herself has seen many absurd things in her life, so someone reincarnating isn't exactly a common thing but it also isn't something she would fret over.

'Aki is Aki.' – Her eyes glowed in an eerie light as they arrived back at the dormitories.

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Curiosity: Elizabeth is also aware that Melody is a reincarnator but she doesn't really care. 

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A/N: Hello there, I hope you're having a wonderful day!

Sorry for not posting this chapter those last few days, a few things happened, so I ended up taking longer to post.

So, what are your thoughts on this chapter? Please leave a comment or a review, it really helps me.

I'm always open to feedback as long as it is with respect.

I guess that's everything from me, see ya.

Peace out~🍷😎