Virtual Mass

Jake was looking for his classmates. On the way, he met a few monsters and defeated them easily. His exploration was going well so far, but he didn't gain any treasure from those level one goblins, and all the Legacies didn't make him level up again.

"I guess I was teleported to the safest area that has level one monsters." Jake decided to go deeper into the tunnel in order to find stronger monsters.

After passing through several pathways, Jake finally saw a brown-skinned boy fighting a human-sized goblin. The boy didn't use any weapons while fighting the red-skinned creature, but he still had the upper hands. That person was Warren Reid.

Jake was amazed by him. The red-skinned creature was an evolution of a goblin. They were known as hobgoblins. Hobgoblins were as strong as adult humans. Although their danger scale was fairly low, they were difficult opponents for level one teenagers, but Warren fought against it well.

The hobgoblin swung his sword in a quick cut, but Warren twisted his body backward in an uncomfortable pose. The creature saw an opening in his unbalanced pose and launched another slash, but Warren jumped into the air.

The hobgoblin waited for him to land, but Warren was still floating in the air, as if his body bore no weight.

Warren let his body float upside down. As his feet touched the ceiling, he propelled his body down and rushed toward the red creature at high speed, as if his body suddenly gained weight.

Warren was too fast for the goblin, and he successfully pushed the creature to the ground, turning him into blood and Gore.

Only after his friend defeated the monster, Jake dared to come out. "You really controlled your ability well, Warren," he praised, clapping his hands.

"Oh, isn't it Butler? To think I was teleported near you. Lucky. I was thinking of going straight to the center of this labyrinth, but I wasn't confident by myself. With the two of us, we can get the most profit."

"You seem to be unusually motivated."

"It is because of that bastard Brian. We are betting about who is going to come out with a higher level. The loser has to obey the winner for one week. No way I am going to be his servant for even a mere one minute."

Jake chuckled. "That sounds like your problem." He walked past him and signaled him to follow him.

"Hey, Butler. Where are you planning to go?"

"Help me look for the other classmates. You will fight the monsters if we encounter them."

Warren didn't say anything and walked beside Jake. For an independent man like him, he didn't complain when Jake ordered him around.

Not long after, they encountered a tall, muscular orc and two hobgoblins. The hobgoblins weren't threats for both of them, but they had to be wary of the orc. The orc was at level 11, and it wore heavy armor.

Warren gulped and pointed at the green-skinned orc. "Do I have to fight him alone?"

"Good point. Do you want to try?"

"Hell, no. I'd die for sure."

Jake sighed. "Alright. I will take care of that one. You defeat two hobgoblins."

"I think I can do that, but will you be alright? That muscle-headed giant is level 11."

"I should be alright. You need to be careful though."

Warren's cold sweat dripped down his face. "Can't complain, can I?"

"Then I will trust my back to you." Jake rushed forward and passed two hobgoblins, but the red humanoids wouldn't let him pass easily. They  chased Jake and swung their swords at him. However, those were useless efforts. The blades couldn't hit him. It was as if his body was a leaf that was blown by the wind.

[Butler Style: Dancing Leaf]!

Jake let the swords hit the air. When the hobgoblins lost their stances, he placed his feet on their bodies and used [Repulsion Force] to propel his body toward the orc, pushing the hobgoblins toward Warren.

Jake threw one of his axes at the orc, but the latter parried it with his ax. As the flying ax bounced off, he caught it.

As he got close to the orc, the latter performed a diagonal slash. Jake put on a calm expression as the ax was coming toward his head. He simply flipped his body in the air, grabbed the orc's arm, and used it to swing himself to the ground.

Jake didn't let go of the orc's arm yet. Before the latter could free it with force, Jake twisted his arm. Suddenly, the orc's body flipped upside down, and he fell to the ground on his head.

The orc had a high reflex as a warrior race, so he immediately reacted to his fall. However, he couldn't stand no matter how hard he tried, as if there was a heavy object pinning him down.

[Butler Style: Weeping Blossom!]

As his [Butler Style] reached grade B, all the techniques' efficiency increased. Furthermore, some techniques gained new side effects. For example, [Weeping Blossom]. As long as he held his opponent while the latter was lying down, he could restrict his opponent's movement. However, he knew he couldn't restrict the orc for too long due to the level difference, so he immediately slashed his neck.

Jake's ax stopped when it hit his neck. He tried to push harder, but the orc's neck was too thick. Eventually, he decided to stop trying because he couldn't restrict the orc any longer.

Jake jumped and stuck his feet on the ceiling. He felt bitter when he saw a thin wound on the orc's neck, but he was aware about his average strength, so he needed another strategy to kill the orc.

The orc stood and roared. "Come down, human. Fight me like a true warrior."

Jake ignored the taunt. He was busy thinking of a strategy to bring him down. 'I can use [Star Way], but I feel like I can awaken more [Butler Style] techniques in this battle. Alright, let's try it,' he thought.

Jake threw his axes and jumped down the ceiling. He knew the orc could parry the axes easily, but he didn't back down. He grabbed his halberd and put on a stance.

The orc smiled, welcoming the frontal challenge. His first move was to activate his aura, enhancing his overall strength.

Jake put on a serious expression when he saw that. [Aura Ignition] was the most basic warrior technique, and average warriors could learn it at level 10. He hadn't learned it yet, so it could be dangerous for him, but he didn't waver and stayed on his feet.

The orc lunged and performed a vertical slash. His ax was fast and quick, but Jake faced it with a barehand.

Jake applied [Attraction Force] on his hand and redirected the slash to the ground. He could feel a powerful force destroying the ground. He activated [Repulsion Force] on his feet and used the force on the ground to propel his body forward while pointing his halberd at the orc.

[Congratulations! You have learned Butler Style — Four Seasons: Gentle Spring!]

Jake pierced the orc's heart and pushed him back. The orc cried in pain while trying to pull the halberd from his chest and planting his feet into the ground to stop himself from being pushed.

The orc successfully stopped his body from being pushed, but he failed to save his life. Blood oozed out of his chest and mouth. His eyes turned white.

Jake pulled the halberd from him, and the orc fell to the ground. After that, his Legacy came out of his body and entered him, making him level up.

[Name: Jake Butler

Species: Human

Level: 5

Talent: Center Shift (E), Akashic Eyes (S), Overcome (F)

Strength: 31 (C) || Endurance: 41 (A)

Agility: 36 (B) || Perception: 37 (A)

Intelligent: 49 (S) || Wisdom: 49 (S)]

Jake was happy to level up. Not only that, the experience was already at 89% too. Although it was a pity he didn't level up twice, it was enough. "My side is finished. I wonder how Warren is doing."

Jake turned around and observed Warren's fight. The brown-skinned boy was having difficulty fighting two hobgoblins. It seemed he didn't have experience at fighting more than one opponent.

Even though his friend was at a disadvantage, Jake didn't plan to help him. He simply looked from afar and observed more.

Warren was facing an opponent at a time, letting the other one sneak up to his back. While he was clashing with his opponent, the other one struck him from the back. Luckily, Warren had been aware of the other opponent, so he could decrease the slash damage to his back. Still, his blood dripped down his wound, and he screamed in pain.

Jake sighed and said, "Don't let them sneak up behind you. You need to position them in front of you "

"I know it, damn you. It's harder said than done!" Warren cursed.

Jake didn't get angry at him because he understood Warren's condition. He simply put his words aside and offered more advice. "Jump to the ceiling. It is easy for you."

Warren didn't respond, but he complied with his words. He covered himself with the aura and jumped at the ceiling. Unlike Jake, Warren couldn't stick himself to any surface, but his ability defied gravity and allowed him to float.

Warren's ability was called [Virtual Mass]. It allowed him to increase or decrease his mass virtually. Virtually meant his changed mass was considered real, but his actual mass didn't change at all. It affected reality and the surroundings, but it didn't affect him at the same time. His ability automatically allowed the beneficial effects of changed mass, but negated the bad effects. For example, he currently decreased his mass virtually to make himself lighter than the air substance, allowing him to float. However, all bad effects due to having lower mass than the air didn't affect him. Without a doubt, his ability was one of the best in class A.

"What happens next?" Warren asked while the hobgoblins were jumping around to hit him.

"Use your damn creative mind. It's your ability," Jake said. If his friend depended on his words, he couldn't grow into a good fighter. He would just help when necessary.

Warren looked troubled. He just stayed floating for a while. Eventually, the hobgoblins stopped jumping around too.

The hobgoblins changed their strategy. They only stared at Warren while gathering their mana on his feet. They hadn't reached level ten yet, so they hadn't learned [Aura Ignition] yet, but applying mana with a certain intention could bring the desired result to a certain extent too, especially if they poured all their mana into their effort.

Warren looked nervous, but he had an idea too. He finally descended and increased his body mass. He fell on the first hobgoblin, and the latter exploded into minced meat and blood due to his weight.

The second hobgoblin roared furiously and lunged at him with enhanced speed, stabbing Warren's stomach.

Warren coughed out blood, but he didn't give up. He ignored the piercing pain in his stomach and crushed his opponent's arms with bare hands.

The hobgoblins screamed in pain when he lost his arms. While he was grieving over his condition, Warren suddenly punched him in the face, making his head explode.

Warren pulled the sword from his stomach and roared. At the same time, two legacy orbs entered his body, making him level up. In an instant, the low rejuvenation effect from level up healed all his wounds, and he recovered to his peak condition.