Golden Experience
"Now die beast!" The girl yelled, her right arm still extended forward as blue flames surge from within it.
"Crazy bitch!" The monster cried, dashing towards me at full speed.
I gulped loudly, this was not looking too good for me. Though I'm confident that I could somehow ward off this monster as I did before, I still have to remain cautious of it as it is extremely cunning and sly. How could I not see that it was deliberately directing the fire to me as well? It was obviously aiming to use me as a hostage, to keep the girl from hurting me as well.
However, judging from what the monster had stated before, it could not afford to remain here for a very long time and it would surely look for some sort of escape path, to leave as quickly as possible. With that in mind, I hastily search around the room and noticed that there was a vent on top of the ceiling above me, furthermore, its lid was missing. Looking down on the floor I saw a square metal cover which was most likely the lid of the vent. I've deduced that the monster had definitely entered this room through the vent, but I was somewhat confused about how it managed to squeeze its massive frame into such a tight space.
Nevertheless, the monster was most likely going to go for the vents in an attempt to escape. By using this information, if I play my cards right, I'm positive that I could block off any attempt for its escape, as well as slaying the beast altogether.
The flames collided painfully on the back of the monster and sizzling sounds echoed across the room. The monster let off a blood-curdling shriek as it mustered up all of its strength into charging at me. I was taken aback by its decision, as I was positive that it was definitely aiming to escape through the vent, but instead of directly going for the vent it went straight at me instead!
"Damn what's going on!?" I yelled, scrambling backward. "Why is it coming this way?"
Initially, my plan was to use the aid of the mysterious force that repelled the monster away from me before, to knock the monster of its course, during its attempt to through the vent. Unfortunately, things were not going exactly how I planned it and I'm now stuck in a really bad spot!
The monster pounced on me once again and as it did, the thin barrier from before immediately appeared and shields me against the monster again. The girl paused abruptly, seeing what was unfolding at the moment had her eyes open wide in disbelief. She managed to compose herself instantly afterward, however.
"Sha-shameless!" she cried while canceling her spell at the same time. "Hiding behind others like a coward!"
The monster ignored her words and continued to claw its way deeper into the barrier, it was as if it was trying to pierce it in two. It feverishly stabs and slams into it, like a crazed dog with rabies. The entire scene was terrifying and I can't help but feel a sort of dread that only people who know that they were about to die would feel.
While thinking this, my body subconsciously inches backward against the toilet wall. Each step I took, the monster would stab its claw against the barrier like an awl, and every time it did so sends shivers down my spine. More and more fumes evaporate from the scales of the monster and it was beginning to show signs of weakening, but despite that, its tenacity only continues to grow even fiercer.
Suddenly there were signs of cracking on the barrier, web-like patterns sprang from all directions in my view, as claws after claws collided onto the barrier. My legs eventually gave away and I fell on my bottom. When the barrier was completely obliterated, I can feel my soul screaming from within my throat and my sanity drifting away from me.
The monster was now completely engulfed in fumes as it puffed and gasped weakly, yet it was still making its way towards me. The girl suddenly becomes agitated but she did not dare to do anything rash as her actions could potentially put my life in danger, in the end, she continued to helplessly watch.
The beast edge closer and closer to me, and as it did, it starts to shrink smaller and smaller in size. Both the women and I were startled by this. The monster finally shrinks to about the size of a cat or a small dog and was now upon my chest. It whispered to me.
"The master will eventually come to collect what was rightfully his in due time..."
As it finishes its sentence, the monster coughs painfully and choked out a small golden sphere-like object. Using its arms, the monster plunges the sphere directly into my chest just right next to where my heart is. Even though I can feel my skin being torn open and my chest caving in, there was no sign of injury or blood splattering anywhere. Suddenly it felt as if my body was being electrocuted by a thousand Walt and all the pores of my skin being pierced by dozens of needles. I shrieked loudly while clutching my body tightly, my heart felt like it was burning and that my entirety would turn into cinders at any moment.
"My apologies master... but I had no other choice but to resolve into this..." The monster murmured, before finally dissolving into nothingness.
As the monster disappeared, the girl darts towards me in worry.
"Hey hang in there, I'll bring you to the infirmary right now." She reassured me.
My throat felt like it was clogged shut and the feeling was suffocating, at the same time, my body was squirming and struggling in a frenzy for breath, it was like I'm drowning in water but instead of water, it was dry land. I clutched my throat tightly while taking a huge gulp of air everytime I breath, and every time I did so, I could feel a sharp burning pain in my chest. The experience was excruciating. I wanted to cry out for water but due to the pain, my lips refuse to open.
The girl leaned forward as she attempts to hold me down, but just as she was about to grab me, my body illuminated in a golden glow and scorches the girl's hand in the process. She yelped backward and immediately gazed at her palm, thankfully there didn't appear to be any burnt marks or injuries on it.
"Damn it!" The girl croaked. "What the hell did that monster do!?"
She tried to force herself to hold onto me but the results were the same, I would illuminate in a golden light as she attempts to approach me and in return, she would jerk backward due to the pain. At last, all she could do was watch on helplessly as I drown in my agony. As time slowly passes by, my shrills grew louder and louder, and my pain more apparent which makes the girl become more agitated by every cry.
The girl, as if to express her impatience to this dire scene, madly fiddles around her skirt pocket in hope of finding something that could be of help. With a faint 'Aha!', she draws out her phone and starts scanning through her contacts.
"I'm not sure if there are any teachers still present at school in this time of the day, but I'll try my best to call for help!" She said, in a reassuring tone.
Just as she was about to dial up a number, my body starts to glow brightly and for some reason, all the pain I've felt before was elated. The burning sensation in my heart and the needle stabbing pain on my skin disappeared as if it was never there, cool air rushes into my lungs, refrigerating my entire respiratory system. My mind became much clearer than ever before and I even feel like there was some improvement in my perception of the world. As the glow slowly brightens, I could feel the bottleneck of my cultivation bursting, I was finally breaking through to the second tier of the Freelance stage.
The girl gasped at my direction and quickly pocket her phone back in into her skirt. By the look on her face, I could tell that she was just as surprised as I am by my sudden improvement.
"What..?" She exclaimed.
The light shone brighter and brighter until eventually, the entire room was decorated with dazzling gold. My body subconsciously sits up straight and with my arms in a meditating pose, I breathe in and out deeply. With my mind now in clarity and body at rest, the light shrinks rapidly into my chest. However, its radiant did not diminish in the least, instead, it only continues to shine even brighter. As the size of the light dwindles and the intensity of its glow increases, I can feel the power of my magic becoming far more potent.
"To think that under such an unfortunate event, he was able to acquire some good fortune..." The girl murmured as she fixed her eyes on me. "It seems like he's about to break through to the second tie - !"
The girl was interrupted by a sudden increase of intensity in the light on my chest which seems like it was scorching it. However, unlike before I didn't scream in the least, this time I remained completely quiet. My mind was in such a state where any kind of human senses was irrelevant, yet I was still conscious of my surroundings. As my cultivation broke through the second tier, the light stops shrinking and once again expanded in size, filling the entire room with golden light. Its brightness was now even more radiant than ever. The girl's jaws sank, she couldn't believe what she was witnessing as she stared at me and the light in awe.
"I take it back..." She said. "This is some good fortune!"
Like before, the light rapidly shrinks in size but for some reason, its brightness only continued to grow. Albeit it took more time for the process to finish than before, I eventually broke through to the third tier of the Freelance stage. Just when the girl thought that the whole ordeal was finally over, the light in my chest once again illuminated the entire room in dazzling light.
"It can't be..." The girl whimpered.
The entire cycle repeats itself over and over again as the light continuously expands and contracts, all the while shining even more brightly than ever. To emphasize the light's growth in intensity, this time it actually gives off the feeling of heat as I could see small beads of sweat dripping down from the girl's forehead. The girl was now completely dumbstruck by the whole scene, as she continued to watch my cultivation rise endlessly.
Tier-4...
Tier-5...
When I broke through into the fifth tier, the light was now radiating so much heat that the entire restroom was now beginning to slowly melt. The girl immediately left the vicinity as fast as she could and was now standing outside with her arms pointing straight towards the top of the entrance. She chanted a few foreign words and suddenly a red magic circle appeared across her palm just like before.
"Frigid Flames!" She Yelled.
Once again, blue flames surge out from within the magic circle, however, this time it was in the form of a pillar and as it passed through the entrance of the restroom, the flames were split into two ways and it slowly engulfed the room. Surprisingly, instead of it setting the room ablaze, layers of ice starts to form on the corner of the walls and it slowly made its way down to enshroud the entire room!
Although the ice was able to somehow hold off the heat exerted by the light for now, as soon as I broke into the sixth tier of the Freelance stage, the ice began to show signs of melting again. Eventually, the girl could no longer keep up with the current rate that the ice was melting at and was forced to cancel her spell.
"Give me a break..." The girl complaints, at the same time, puffing and breathing raggedly. "If this keeps up, this entire building will melt! I need to think of a way to stop this quick..."
As she was contemplating about her next course of action, the girl noticed that light was now showing sign of dimming. In fact, she could feel the heat retracting back towards me and could now slightly see the outline of my body. My senses slowly return to my body and as the radiant glow shrink closer and closer to me, I could now faintly feel the boiling energy directing towards my chest.
The light seeped into my body like a broken dam and my chest was swelling rapidly as if it was threatening to burst from within me. After a brief moment, my body just simply couldn't withstand the dense torrent of light any longer, as such the abundant energy stored within my chest overflowed into my entire system and cultivation, empowering my magical essence altogether. With one final push, my body momentarily hovered in midair and it illuminated brightly like an explosion.
Tier-7!
The girl instinctively covered her eyes to avoid looking directly at the flash. After waiting for the light to settle down, the girl cautiously walked into the now dust filled restroom.
"Are you alright?" The girl called out.
"Y-Yeah..." I immediately replied to her in a somewhat exhausted tone. "Just kinda tired..."
"Alright don't move, I'll call for help," She reassured me. "You must be extremely worn out from advancing through so many tiers in such a small amount of time, it's best if you don't - "
She paused before she could finish her sentence, I'm starting to get really sick of people pausing between their sentences, it was never a good sign when people do so. I sighed dejectedly at what's going to happen next and called out to her in an unsurprising tone.
"What's did you see now?"
She didn't say anything at first, all she did was look behind me for a moment before pointing out her index finger above me. Her arms were on guard and her face was that of seriousness, her lips were coarse when she speaks.
"Watch out!" She warned. "There's something behind you!"
In response to her words, I turned around immediately. As expected, I barely had any energy left to move at all and this single movement alone had sapped all the remaining energy I had left for the day. As soon as I turn around, I fell on my back. Letting out a slight groan, I forced my head to face towards the direction the girl was pointing at. My eyes were immediately dazzled by golden light, as I wince them involuntarily to get a better look.
Right there above me was a golden outline of a tall and slender robotic figure. Its entire appearance was ethereal, and it was hard to tell the exact shape of its body parts. However, if you were to observe the strange figure long enough, you could actually tell that it is, in fact, wearing a set of full body armor. Its head was in the shape of a Spartan's helmet and it had long upward extending shoulder pads in the form of a shield. Its chest was equipped by a triangular breastplate which puffs outward slightly, its waist was narrowed and was connected by feather-like tassets on its hips.
The golden knight looks lifeless and dull, it's almost as if it had an on and off switch and someone had turned it off. Nevertheless, its appearance was nothing short of grandiose and I couldn't help but stare at it for a long period of time.
"Incredible..." The girl murmured behind me, equally fascinated as I am. "What a golden experience!"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone