Chapter 23: E-Rank Dungeon Gate
"What the holy cow is going on?!" I swear as I wipe away the water that got into my eyes.
"Well, it's already morning and you are still sleeping!" Reiko shouts as though it is a great sin.
"Ugh... What time is it?" I ask, attempting to combat the weariness I'm feeling at the moment.
"Exactly 6:00 am," replies Lena.
"6 a.m.? I still have enough time to sleep then, damn it. "I thought it was nine in the morning, or thereabouts," I mumble as I lie back on the bed. Even back on Earth, I frequently woke up late before preparing for classes. At the crack of dawn, I could never resist dozing off and getting extra hours of sleep.
*SIGH*
"Guess I have to drag you outside myself."
That is all I hear before it suddenly feels like Lena is pulling me outside by my pants. Even so, in the last few minutes before we leave the house, I cannot help but nod off.
*Sigh*
I should have slept without clothes on.
__
Right now, I am standing in the courtyard along with Lena and Reiko, shirtless. And I am no longer experiencing drowsiness like before.
"I need my shirt."
"No, you don't. At least, not now that you don't have much clothes yet. Besides, since you are human you'll sweat quite a lot," Lena says, denying my request.
"Well, take your dagger and attack Reiko with it," Lena says, handing me my long dagger.
As I collect the dagger, I look at Reiko and Lena in shock.
"Are you guys out of your mind? Don't you know I might end up hurting her," I say in disbelief, immediately dismissing the idea.
"As your trainer, I command you to do what I asked you to do. Reiko is well trained in combat and her reflexes are above that of a non-cat-girl. If you are still not comfortable, I have healing potions in my space ring," Lena says assuringly. "One last thing, Reiko is not going to use Mana, so don't use it either," Lena adds.
If that is the case then I hope it doesn't end badly.
I walk onto the field, unsheathing my dagger, and begin to walk towards Reiko who has also taken a fighting stance.
In the next moment, I begin to sprint towards Reiko, my boots thudding against the cold ground. But to my surprise Reiko is poised like a statue, looking very confident.
Gritting my teeth, I grip the knife tightly, moving at the speed my current body can handle.
"IYAAHH!" Letting out a battle cry, before lunging at Reiko, aiming for the side of her stomach— a move that I learned from watching movies.
But to my utmost shock, Reiko, like a wisp of smoke, flits around the courtyard—moving at a speed that makes her just beyond reach—and my blade slices through nothing but air.
Why... Why…? Am I this weak?
I take a deep breath and start attacking her again with all the strength I can muster. Yet, she's not where she should be. It's like fighting the wind. Reiko's reflexes are beyond my imagination. It's like she can even move faster than Lena.
I strike left and strike right, but she's already sidestepping before I can even make a move, almost as if she can tell each move I am about to make. With each passing seconds and minutes, my body starts to get weak and tired as my perspiration drenches me from top to bottom.
"That's enough!" Lena's voice suddenly cuts through my thoughts, and I stop in my tracks, panting heavily.
Reiko on the other hand doesn't look tired in the slightest.
"Owen, you tried," Lena says, patting me on the back.
"Stop sweet-talking me, I was literally being toyed with by Reiko. I couldn't even touch her clothes!" I exclaim in frustration, wiping beads of sweat off my face.
"Fufu, you can't compare yourself to Reiko just yet, Owen. Reiko also worked hard to get to where she is today. Owen, you have the potential to grow stronger without hitting any limits. I very much believe in you," Lena tells me in soothing words, patting my back once again.
"Thank you very much."
"The reason why you can't touch Reiko is because she's also a D-Rank adventurer like me. We both became adventurers a few months after our mom died," Lena reveals, causing me to nod my head as a sign that I am paying attention to her story.
"What about your Mana pool?" I ask Lena.
The next moment, Lena and Reiko unleash their Mana pool, and the moment they do, it immediately feels like their Mana pool is about to swallow my own meager Mana pool, thus, causing a ticklish sensation on my skin.
Inspect Mana Pool.
[Inspecting...]
[Lena's Mana Pool: Gold Rank 2.]
[Reiko's Mana Pool: Gold Rank 4.]
"You both have Gold Rank Mana pools! And Reiko has a larger Mana pool than you," I mutter in shock. Because I am still new to this world, I had to use the new skill of my system to figure out their Mana pool level unlike the inhabitants of this world that could tell just from feeling it.
"I told you. She's also faster than me. Guess she took after Mom," Lena replies.
"But... You said she's also an advent-"
"I have my own team. Though, unlike my sister, I am not the team leader," Reiko interrupts before explaining to me.
"If you don't mind, would you tell me more about what made you become an adventurer? I don't remember much but I know that reaching this rank within a few months is definitely because you guys are talented," I request.
"Well, after our Mom died, my sister and I decided to become adventurers so that we can gather enough money to buy forms for the Crystal Moon School of Magic. Most prodigies of this continent graduated from there, so it has become a norm for mages to want to be admitted into the academy since they offer the resources, knowledge, and sponsorships that are needed to become a magic prodigy," Lena explains to me.
"Well, now that you joined us, you might as well apply there as well," Lena adds.
"Magic academy huh... I will think about it," I mumble, lost in my thoughts.
Suddenly, Lena walks towards a weapon rack that's situated in the corner of the courtyard— it is equipped with only swords from top to bottom.
"Owen, I have studied your fighting style when you used the dagger. You have a simple attack pattern. But, unlike some people, I believe simple attack patterns like fencing can turn into something formidable. I think you're versatile with any weapon, but a sword would help you out more in dangerous situations than a dagger would," Lena says, tossing a black sword to me.
I catch the sword, unsheathing it partly before sheathing it back.
Inspect sword.
[Inspecting...]
[Black Standard-Grade sword]
[Active Skills: None]
[Passive Skills: deals +5 percent damage.]
As I read the properties of the sword, I am slightly impressed that a sword that was crafted from an F-Rank beast's core is this useful. Well, the beast was probably about to evolve.
Suddenly, I notice Lena bringing out a jet-black spherical object, like an orb, from her space ring. She throws the object to the ground, and immediately, the object begins to transform into a very large, round device that can fit two standing people at the same time.
"Owen, this is a mini-teleporter that our Mom usually used when she was alive. This teleporter can give us access to any level of dungeons instead of waiting for a dungeon gate to appear. However, the teleporter needs to feed on a certain amount of beasts' cores before it can take us to any level of the dungeons, and it can be quite expensive as well.
However, don't worry, it has been fed enough cores to open an E-Rank dungeon gate," Lena explains, pressing a button on the teleporter.
Instantly, a bright green light erupts from the teleporter, blinding my eyes for a split second.
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