Doubling Everything: The Lazy Student of the Battle Academy (Original)
Aizu: "What about people who are magical materials?"
Statu Quo: "Aaaah! Abomination. Kill it, kill it with fire!"
I like this a lot so far. You have the same problem as in a lot of your other stories, where you escalate so fast that you basically get to gods throwing planets at each other by chapter 20 and have nowhere left to go, but it is a fun read so far. One thing makes me severely ill though:
Apart from that, you still have the same minor grammar and spelling mistakes as in all your other stories, but those don't detract that much from reading this. Maybe run the chapters through grammarly or chatgpt? No idea if that actually helps, though :D
Square kilometers are a unit for area, not length, and using metric and imperial units next to each other like that is a bit weird.
Apart from that, you still have the same minor grammar and spelling mistakes as in all your other stories, but those don't detract that much from reading this. Maybe run the chapters through grammarly or chatgpt? No idea if that actually helps, though :D
Levelgap
Wielder of Destruction
I'm very sorry everyone. I got stuck on a certain part of writing the next chapter, and I can't think of anything to continue it. It's been a few days now, and I think I felt tired writing this one.
I know this always happens to my stories. This will sound like an excuse really, but I decided to put this story in a hiatus. I have many plans with this one. The idea is incredibly interesting, along with the world that I have fleshed out within my drafts. But I just can't continue... I don't even know why when I know what I generally wanted to see on the plot and the idea itself... I am really excited to show most of my ideas in this story...
I am really sorry for stopping the update on another story I have. I hope you understand...
I know this always happens to my stories. This will sound like an excuse really, but I decided to put this story in a hiatus. I have many plans with this one. The idea is incredibly interesting, along with the world that I have fleshed out within my drafts. But I just can't continue... I don't even know why when I know what I generally wanted to see on the plot and the idea itself... I am really excited to show most of my ideas in this story...
I am really sorry for stopping the update on another story I have. I hope you understand...
Just take your time. As long as I get more content from you, it doesn't matter how many stories stall out. I always enjoy reading them.
Chapter 13: Waking Up (OLD)
Levelgap
Wielder of Destruction
In a certain world, there once existed a brave village boy who doesn't tolerate injustice. He fought those who bullied his friend, go on the nearby forest to help forage and hunt for the village, and practice fighting so he could protect the village when he grew up.
After bandits came to raid their village, he protected the village despite being young. Though he was gentle, he wasn't naive and knew that he can't protect anyone without being courageous. Instead of killing everyone, he used his mind and goes straight to the leader of the bandits, killing him.
That was the start of his first legend.
As he grew older, he accumulated feats from himself. Becoming a bandit slayer, then later uprooting corruption to his kingdom. Killing ancient evils and dragons. Befriending spirits and other known figures, even defeating a demon lord.
The Goddess was impressed at his accomplishments, and she was so curious that she descended to greet him. She was more curious about one thing, more than the achievements he got.
"Why do you go around and save everyone?"
The hero smiled at her way before he answered.
"Because I can't help it..."
The Goddess was baffled. "Why?" She asked.
"... I don't know. When I found someone in trouble, my body just move on it's own." He looked up at the clear skies as he said that. "Is it a bad thing? I think I'm satisfied with what I'm doing..."
The Goddess furrowed her brows. She easily discerned that he was troubled by this, though she didn't pursue as he quickly dismissed it.
And so she continue to observed him. After his first life, he once again became a hero for the world. Despite reincarnating, he always was going around and saving anyone. Regardless of his status in life, and the unfairness of reality slamming him to the ground, he walked forward with his head held high, still doing his duty unperturbed.
In one instance of his life, she became more concerned at him and can't help but ask once more.
"Are you really satisfied with what you're doing? Isn't it enough that you sacrificed so much for the masses?"
He shook his head. "How can I stop, when evil still lurked on this world?"
"But there were many heroes like you. I really hope you stop and think about yourself..."
She was genuinely worried for the hero. In every of his incarnations, he just moved for the masses. There wasn't any regards to his own well-being.
Despite her concerns, he simply shook it away.
"I can't stop. So long as suffering exists, I wouldn't stop until the world is at peace..."
There was something deep within those words. A hidden meaning that she couldn't discern.
And so, time passed for a long time. Many of his incarnations passed away and reincarnated into another one. They all became heroes regardless of the era of the world.
Until finally, on his latest incarnation, he fought against a great evil. So great that they even suppressed the divine. Everyone fought and died along with him, and then it ended with a pyrrhic victory. 90% of their troops died, but they managed to vanquished the great evil.
As she heard the final wish of the hero, she finally understood. The hidden intention within his heart bursting as he looked at the barren skies above.
That wish was so simple, yet it revealed everything.
On every incarnations he had, he always lived poorly. Everytime he was obligated by others, and he couldn't helped but save them. Even when no one was asking him for it, he was forced to be responsible for it.
Every people asked for someone to save them, and he was one of the very few who always answered that call. A person who couldn't rest due to the expectations of the others.
He was tired. Yet he tried to meet the expectation of the others. He couldn't stand by and let things happen, as it was against his very principle.
His wish was very pure. It contained his long held wish to himself. To be free of this burden from everyone, and just be himself.
The Goddess weep, as she kneeled on the corpse of the hero. She gently caressed the hair of the hero, humming a beautiful tune that acted as a departure song for those who lost their lives on the battle.
"Sleep well, O Brave Hero. The next time you open your eyes, no more suffering will come for you. I swear it as the True Goddess!"
And so, that was the end of the hero that saved a hundred worlds.
'... Where...?'
She woke up, and saw the white ceiling. The comfort of the reclining bed and it's soft blanket, and the white sheets that covered her body made her feel warmth. The electrical pulse rhythmically resounded with a calm slowness as she sat up and glanced around.
"... I'm in the hospital...?"
She looked at herself and saw that she was wearing a white plain gown. It felt very loose to her body, and made her shiver for a moment as the white sheets slip down to her lap when she sat up.
'... Right...' She recalled about the event that happened before she lost consciousness. 'If I am here and alive, then that meant the city was saved, right?'
She let out a sigh of relief at that. With that relief, her body that she doesn't know was tensed relaxed and then she laid on the bed comfortably. She looked at the ceilings for a moment, before she recalled about something.
"Oh right, where is my phone!?" She quickly sat up once more and looked around. After she noticed that her phone was gone, she recalled about a neat function on the hospital and looked around the bed for a moment.
When she found the small device on the table just besides her bed, she took it and pushed the only button in there. It beeped for a moment, before after awhile a nurse entered.
"Oh, you are awake. What can I--"
"Phone!"
"... Pardon?" The nurse stopped at her tracks, and they tilted their head.
"Where is my phone!?" Aizu panicked as she asked.
The nurse blinked her eyes for a moment, before she smiled awkwardly. "If you are looking for your phone, it was currently stored safely on the nurse's desk. Would you like to get it now?" Aizu quickly nodded. "Then, before that I have to check you up first. Don't worry, this won't take long..."
"Eh..." Aizu whined.
Aizu heard that she got a premium treatment. She doesn't know how did that happen as she wasn't even that rich. She doesn't feel the ache on her body, or the wounds she acquired when she saved those people from being almost killed by the Iron Ant Legions.
She just got her phone back, and they said that she could leave after they were done with the documents. So she was waiting on her her, sitting on it's side as she tried to call her brother.
"Ugh... this is the third time. Just when is my brother going to take the call?"
She wanted to notify his brother about what happened. Though the call wasn't coming through. After the third time it failed, she finally decided to leave a text for his brother before she let out a sigh.
Someone entered the room once more, and she looked up, only to gawked in surprised when she saw the familiar appearance of the only A Rank on St. Angela Academy. Along with Selena was another blonde haired woman whom she recalled she had saved at that time.
"I heard you woke up, so I came here to see you." Selena crossed her arms just below her chest, before she gasped as a smack came behind her. "Why, Mom!?" She turned to the blonde haired woman besides her, a bit teary.
"Stop acting haughty in front of her. Your being rude!" The blonde haired woman, now identified as Selena's mother, then lowered her head at Aizu. "I apologize for my daughter. She didn't meant to be rude like that..."
"... Uh... okay...?" Aizu doesn't know how to respond to this. She was surprised, and at the same time confused by this.
"I'm not being rude!" Selena huffed in dissatisfaction before she glanced at Aizu. She stared at her for a moment, until they heard the sound of her mother letting out a grunt, which made the girl sigh and then resumed with a bow of her head. "Thank you..."
Aizu froze for a moment, confused. Though it took her a few seconds before she managed to processed why was this happening.
"That's right. We are grateful that you saved me from that monster. I'll be sure to remember... uh..."
"Koizumi Aizu. Uh... I think it's Aizu Koizumi if we are going for the standard naming order..."
"Right, Miss Aizu. I'm Nessa Zephes, and this is my daughter..."
"Selena Zephes. I'm sure you know me, right?" Selena interjected with a huffed.
"Right... who wouldn't know? You are the riding star of our school!"
"Of course! It's impossible that you won't know me, being a student of our school... ow!" Her mother pinched her on the sides, which causes her to wince. With a sharp glance from her mother, Selena sighed. "... Right. I'm not here to gloat about myself. I am not someone who won't repay a favor. I'm here to tell you that if you need anything from me, then I will do it so long as it is possible. This is a favor for saving my Mom from that oversized insect!" She turned her head away, her cheek reddening for a moment in embarrassment.
Aizu stared at her for a moment. She doesn't really expected for her to say that. She mostly saw Selena as a self-centered person who seeks attention.
"Uh... okay, I will take note of that..." She pulled her face away when Selena suddenly leaned closer to her. "What!?"
"Do you have Intersync? I always saw you with a phone so..."
Intersync was the most popular social media on the lower sectors. Billions of people have an account on it. It was obvious that Aizu had an account for it, as she sometimes browsed the internet for new games.
With her nod, Selena quickly perked up.
"Then add me!"
"B-but why...?" Aizu felt a bit troubled.
"Because on this day, you are my friend!"
"... When did that happen...?"
"Just now, and you can't refuse!" She could see Selena's mother shaking her head with a sigh.
In the end, she added her on her Intersync. She wondered why Selena looked bright. She didn't thought she was anything special.
After that Selena stayed for a moment, accompanying her as she waited for her to be released. The blonde haired girl was generous enough to explain what happened after she lost consciousness.
She was surprised to hear that Selena was focal to the subjugation of the Dragon Centipede.
'So even someone who artificially awakened is this strong! A Ranks are really busted!'
She still recalled the destruction and collateral that was caused by that large centipede on the brief moment it breached on the Golden District. It made her shiver at that recollection, and was in awe that Selena could defeat something like that.
She heard that she made a 5,000ft Orichalcum pillar to crush that centipede, and indeed it could be seen even on this part of the city. They were currently two districts away from Golden District, and the visage of the glittering golden monolith was visible on the skies. It stood proud like a tower.
'That will definitely become a tourist attraction!' Aizu thought.
She really doesn't care though. Now that the crisis was done and everything returned to normal, she could go back to her daily life.
'I almost forgot... it seems like I was out for a day. I still feel that warm energy within my body... so I think I have to use that now...'
As she felt that she always lacked the stamina, she decided to upgrade that. She didn't want to experienced losing her breathe while she was fighting for her life. She at least wanted to have enough energy so she could run away.
Selena has left her alone after she got released from the hospital, and she was now on her way to her home through a bus. She was contemplating about the next school she should attend, as she was sure the Tinkerer's Club was destroyed due to the Dimensional Breach, when she felt the vibration of her phone and a notification above her screen.
It was a text from her brother's number, and she quickly stopped whatever she was doing to read it. She was just planning for a reply when she froze as she read the contents.
"... What... Onii-chan... is missing...!?"
Written on her phone was a long apology from the Awakened Office itself. Stating that only his phone and some pieces of his uniform and hair were left when they got a distressed call. They put a compensation for her loss, acting as if her brother being a lost cause was a foregone conclusion.
'.... No...!'
Aizu trembled, as her clutched on her phone tightened. The texture of the phone was strained, and a bit of cracked occur on it's screen as she stared in horror at her phone.
After bandits came to raid their village, he protected the village despite being young. Though he was gentle, he wasn't naive and knew that he can't protect anyone without being courageous. Instead of killing everyone, he used his mind and goes straight to the leader of the bandits, killing him.
That was the start of his first legend.
As he grew older, he accumulated feats from himself. Becoming a bandit slayer, then later uprooting corruption to his kingdom. Killing ancient evils and dragons. Befriending spirits and other known figures, even defeating a demon lord.
The Goddess was impressed at his accomplishments, and she was so curious that she descended to greet him. She was more curious about one thing, more than the achievements he got.
"Why do you go around and save everyone?"
The hero smiled at her way before he answered.
"Because I can't help it..."
The Goddess was baffled. "Why?" She asked.
"... I don't know. When I found someone in trouble, my body just move on it's own." He looked up at the clear skies as he said that. "Is it a bad thing? I think I'm satisfied with what I'm doing..."
The Goddess furrowed her brows. She easily discerned that he was troubled by this, though she didn't pursue as he quickly dismissed it.
And so she continue to observed him. After his first life, he once again became a hero for the world. Despite reincarnating, he always was going around and saving anyone. Regardless of his status in life, and the unfairness of reality slamming him to the ground, he walked forward with his head held high, still doing his duty unperturbed.
In one instance of his life, she became more concerned at him and can't help but ask once more.
"Are you really satisfied with what you're doing? Isn't it enough that you sacrificed so much for the masses?"
He shook his head. "How can I stop, when evil still lurked on this world?"
"But there were many heroes like you. I really hope you stop and think about yourself..."
She was genuinely worried for the hero. In every of his incarnations, he just moved for the masses. There wasn't any regards to his own well-being.
Despite her concerns, he simply shook it away.
"I can't stop. So long as suffering exists, I wouldn't stop until the world is at peace..."
There was something deep within those words. A hidden meaning that she couldn't discern.
And so, time passed for a long time. Many of his incarnations passed away and reincarnated into another one. They all became heroes regardless of the era of the world.
Until finally, on his latest incarnation, he fought against a great evil. So great that they even suppressed the divine. Everyone fought and died along with him, and then it ended with a pyrrhic victory. 90% of their troops died, but they managed to vanquished the great evil.
As she heard the final wish of the hero, she finally understood. The hidden intention within his heart bursting as he looked at the barren skies above.
That wish was so simple, yet it revealed everything.
On every incarnations he had, he always lived poorly. Everytime he was obligated by others, and he couldn't helped but save them. Even when no one was asking him for it, he was forced to be responsible for it.
Every people asked for someone to save them, and he was one of the very few who always answered that call. A person who couldn't rest due to the expectations of the others.
He was tired. Yet he tried to meet the expectation of the others. He couldn't stand by and let things happen, as it was against his very principle.
His wish was very pure. It contained his long held wish to himself. To be free of this burden from everyone, and just be himself.
The Goddess weep, as she kneeled on the corpse of the hero. She gently caressed the hair of the hero, humming a beautiful tune that acted as a departure song for those who lost their lives on the battle.
"Sleep well, O Brave Hero. The next time you open your eyes, no more suffering will come for you. I swear it as the True Goddess!"
And so, that was the end of the hero that saved a hundred worlds.
'... Where...?'
She woke up, and saw the white ceiling. The comfort of the reclining bed and it's soft blanket, and the white sheets that covered her body made her feel warmth. The electrical pulse rhythmically resounded with a calm slowness as she sat up and glanced around.
"... I'm in the hospital...?"
She looked at herself and saw that she was wearing a white plain gown. It felt very loose to her body, and made her shiver for a moment as the white sheets slip down to her lap when she sat up.
'... Right...' She recalled about the event that happened before she lost consciousness. 'If I am here and alive, then that meant the city was saved, right?'
She let out a sigh of relief at that. With that relief, her body that she doesn't know was tensed relaxed and then she laid on the bed comfortably. She looked at the ceilings for a moment, before she recalled about something.
"Oh right, where is my phone!?" She quickly sat up once more and looked around. After she noticed that her phone was gone, she recalled about a neat function on the hospital and looked around the bed for a moment.
When she found the small device on the table just besides her bed, she took it and pushed the only button in there. It beeped for a moment, before after awhile a nurse entered.
"Oh, you are awake. What can I--"
"Phone!"
"... Pardon?" The nurse stopped at her tracks, and they tilted their head.
"Where is my phone!?" Aizu panicked as she asked.
The nurse blinked her eyes for a moment, before she smiled awkwardly. "If you are looking for your phone, it was currently stored safely on the nurse's desk. Would you like to get it now?" Aizu quickly nodded. "Then, before that I have to check you up first. Don't worry, this won't take long..."
"Eh..." Aizu whined.
Aizu heard that she got a premium treatment. She doesn't know how did that happen as she wasn't even that rich. She doesn't feel the ache on her body, or the wounds she acquired when she saved those people from being almost killed by the Iron Ant Legions.
She just got her phone back, and they said that she could leave after they were done with the documents. So she was waiting on her her, sitting on it's side as she tried to call her brother.
"Ugh... this is the third time. Just when is my brother going to take the call?"
She wanted to notify his brother about what happened. Though the call wasn't coming through. After the third time it failed, she finally decided to leave a text for his brother before she let out a sigh.
Someone entered the room once more, and she looked up, only to gawked in surprised when she saw the familiar appearance of the only A Rank on St. Angela Academy. Along with Selena was another blonde haired woman whom she recalled she had saved at that time.
"I heard you woke up, so I came here to see you." Selena crossed her arms just below her chest, before she gasped as a smack came behind her. "Why, Mom!?" She turned to the blonde haired woman besides her, a bit teary.
"Stop acting haughty in front of her. Your being rude!" The blonde haired woman, now identified as Selena's mother, then lowered her head at Aizu. "I apologize for my daughter. She didn't meant to be rude like that..."
"... Uh... okay...?" Aizu doesn't know how to respond to this. She was surprised, and at the same time confused by this.
"I'm not being rude!" Selena huffed in dissatisfaction before she glanced at Aizu. She stared at her for a moment, until they heard the sound of her mother letting out a grunt, which made the girl sigh and then resumed with a bow of her head. "Thank you..."
Aizu froze for a moment, confused. Though it took her a few seconds before she managed to processed why was this happening.
"That's right. We are grateful that you saved me from that monster. I'll be sure to remember... uh..."
"Koizumi Aizu. Uh... I think it's Aizu Koizumi if we are going for the standard naming order..."
"Right, Miss Aizu. I'm Nessa Zephes, and this is my daughter..."
"Selena Zephes. I'm sure you know me, right?" Selena interjected with a huffed.
"Right... who wouldn't know? You are the riding star of our school!"
"Of course! It's impossible that you won't know me, being a student of our school... ow!" Her mother pinched her on the sides, which causes her to wince. With a sharp glance from her mother, Selena sighed. "... Right. I'm not here to gloat about myself. I am not someone who won't repay a favor. I'm here to tell you that if you need anything from me, then I will do it so long as it is possible. This is a favor for saving my Mom from that oversized insect!" She turned her head away, her cheek reddening for a moment in embarrassment.
Aizu stared at her for a moment. She doesn't really expected for her to say that. She mostly saw Selena as a self-centered person who seeks attention.
"Uh... okay, I will take note of that..." She pulled her face away when Selena suddenly leaned closer to her. "What!?"
"Do you have Intersync? I always saw you with a phone so..."
Intersync was the most popular social media on the lower sectors. Billions of people have an account on it. It was obvious that Aizu had an account for it, as she sometimes browsed the internet for new games.
With her nod, Selena quickly perked up.
"Then add me!"
"B-but why...?" Aizu felt a bit troubled.
"Because on this day, you are my friend!"
"... When did that happen...?"
"Just now, and you can't refuse!" She could see Selena's mother shaking her head with a sigh.
In the end, she added her on her Intersync. She wondered why Selena looked bright. She didn't thought she was anything special.
After that Selena stayed for a moment, accompanying her as she waited for her to be released. The blonde haired girl was generous enough to explain what happened after she lost consciousness.
She was surprised to hear that Selena was focal to the subjugation of the Dragon Centipede.
'So even someone who artificially awakened is this strong! A Ranks are really busted!'
She still recalled the destruction and collateral that was caused by that large centipede on the brief moment it breached on the Golden District. It made her shiver at that recollection, and was in awe that Selena could defeat something like that.
She heard that she made a 5,000ft Orichalcum pillar to crush that centipede, and indeed it could be seen even on this part of the city. They were currently two districts away from Golden District, and the visage of the glittering golden monolith was visible on the skies. It stood proud like a tower.
'That will definitely become a tourist attraction!' Aizu thought.
She really doesn't care though. Now that the crisis was done and everything returned to normal, she could go back to her daily life.
'I almost forgot... it seems like I was out for a day. I still feel that warm energy within my body... so I think I have to use that now...'
As she felt that she always lacked the stamina, she decided to upgrade that. She didn't want to experienced losing her breathe while she was fighting for her life. She at least wanted to have enough energy so she could run away.
Selena has left her alone after she got released from the hospital, and she was now on her way to her home through a bus. She was contemplating about the next school she should attend, as she was sure the Tinkerer's Club was destroyed due to the Dimensional Breach, when she felt the vibration of her phone and a notification above her screen.
It was a text from her brother's number, and she quickly stopped whatever she was doing to read it. She was just planning for a reply when she froze as she read the contents.
"... What... Onii-chan... is missing...!?"
Written on her phone was a long apology from the Awakened Office itself. Stating that only his phone and some pieces of his uniform and hair were left when they got a distressed call. They put a compensation for her loss, acting as if her brother being a lost cause was a foregone conclusion.
'.... No...!'
Aizu trembled, as her clutched on her phone tightened. The texture of the phone was strained, and a bit of cracked occur on it's screen as she stared in horror at her phone.
Hello, I just came back to continue this story. Well, I think I rested enough and think I can continue this.
I actually don't know what to think of this chapter. This chapter gave me a lot of headache, because of the scenes I planned for this.
In the end, I just decided to change some of the wordings, and not go into more details as I think most of the words I wrote on the old version were very redundant and was just bloating the whole chapter.
I hope you have fun with this one, see you later!~
If you want to support me, you can go to my Kofi account here.
Thank you for reading this!~♪
I actually don't know what to think of this chapter. This chapter gave me a lot of headache, because of the scenes I planned for this.
In the end, I just decided to change some of the wordings, and not go into more details as I think most of the words I wrote on the old version were very redundant and was just bloating the whole chapter.
I hope you have fun with this one, see you later!~
If you want to support me, you can go to my Kofi account here.
Thank you for reading this!~♪
Last edited:
Chapter 14: New Resolve (OLD)
Levelgap
Wielder of Destruction
A few days has passed since the Dimensional Breach. Within the living room of her house, she gazed at the ceiling in a dazed. She laid on the couch, one of her hand carried her phone. She raised it and looked at it when she felt it vibrate on her hand, and she saw a text.
She let out a tired sigh before she sat up and read the text. It was the final notification from the Divine Wings Office about the compensation. Despite seeing five billion credits being added on her bank account, she wasn't happy.
"What do they mean there is nothing they could do!?" She grunted under her breathe before she stood up, and then stomped her foot on the floor.
A strong thud echoed on the room. Thankfully the materials that made up the floor was extremely durable, otherwise she would be making a hole on it. She doesn't about that that as her shoulders trembled.
"... He's the only person I have left..." Tears formed and slipped on her cheeks. Her hair covered her upper face.
She took a few moments to calm herself, though she couldn't. She had been waiting, but there was nothing but the statement from the Divine Wings.
"... I have to try again!" She quickly turned to her phone that has been newly repaired.
It only took her a moment before she got onto a certain site. The site was an official government site that issued ID permits for entry on higher sectors. She made another request to visit a higher sector and waited for a moment. She doesn't have the heart to even continue playing with this current event.
It took a few minutes before she got a notification. Quickly she looked at it, before she bit her lips in anger. On the screen of her phone, the whole reply that could be basically be summarized as a rejection of her request was plastered on her notification bar.
It goes into detail why she was unqualified for it. That she should have the required qualifications.
The basic and the quickest way to have the permission was to become an Awakened with a higher rank. With a single request, Sector Customs would quickly processed and gave them accessed to higher sectors. There were other ways even as a lower ranking Awakener.
For the lower ranking Awakeners, they could raise their standing by either tournaments or if they became honor students from their schools. She has read that, but she was hesitant.
She still had hoped that through sheer stubbornness, she might have the chance to get to Sector 252. She had tried the others she found on the internet, though she doesn't find most of the suggestions satisfactory.
On UnitedSequence, there were some anons that suggested that they should illegally enter the tracks to the higher sectors, or they should hack the system so they could acquire access to other sectors. Those were extremely risky, and as a person who doesn't want to find trouble, she didn't have the courage to try it.
"... Why is this happening!" She sat on the couch once more. Her phone landing on her side as she held onto her head. "That stupid big brother... I told him not to do this dangerous thing!" She screamed out.
She constantly said that since she came back home after she woke up from the hospital. Her emotions were in chaos. The majority that she felt were frustration and sadness. There were many thoughts that came to her mind, most of them finding what she could blame.
On her mind, she felt that it was the Divine Wings fault. There were some parts of her that even blamed her brother for being stubborn, or herself for not being pushy when she tried to stop him. Though within her heart she knew, it was just an unfortunate incident. Blaming everything won't help her.
"Dammit!" Her heart was disturbed. She couldn't concentrate due to the thought of her brother.
It's been three days now, and she was still met with indecision. She was confused what she should do next.
She heard the phone vibrated, and with a frustrated sigh she looked at it. She saw it was an Intersync notification. It was a chat from Selena Zephes herself. She didn't care and just threw the phone back on the couch besides her, before she leaned her head on the top of the couch.
"What should I do now...!" Her grumbled echoed within her, and even when she tried to calm herself, she couldn't help but feel irritated.
She stared at the ceilings for awhile, before she finally felt her stomach grumbling. She looked at the clock and saw that she has been here for an hour now, just moping.
"... Tsk..." She couldn't form any words. She decided to order a food for now and calm herself down.
After she was done with her takeout meal, she just realized that she haven't used her daily doubling to this day. She have been distressed this past three days, so she haven't changed her routine and barely put her attention to it. She half-consciously put her daily doubling on her stamina.
"... I don't feel any tired at all." She doesn't find it appropriate to put her charge to her stamina once more, so she decided to change it up.
She thought about it for a moment.
She doesn't have any desire to go to a Specialty School. Her brother was gone, so she doesn't really liked the idea of finding success for herself. She could easily accumulate her wealth if she focused her doubling on her credit account, but she doesn't felt like doing it.
She looked at her phone once more. Her brows furrowed for a moment with her lips in a neutral thin line. She browsed the internet for a moment, and then stopped. Reflected on her eyes were the words of the honor students, and the benefits of being one.
"... I have to get to Sector 252..." She couldn't move on. It was her brother who was missing. The only remaining family member that she got.
Even if she doesn't want to do something illegal, she still wanted to go there and find her brother. She sighed as she realized that she have no choice on the matter.
"... It seems like I have to go back to school then..." She muttered under her breathe.
She was reluctant. That school was hostile to those who they perceived as a coward. Though it was the only legal thing she could do if she wanted to rise to the top.
With those thoughts, she finally decided what to increase on her capabilities. She had long time realized that her mind couldn't process what she was doing after she already reacted to it. Her reflexes was good, but she wanted her thoughts to keep up with it. She doesn't want to just react and barely realized what was happening to her while she reacted to danger.
Her mind was made up. She would go back to that school.
"... I have to raise my rank then! Wait for me, Onii-chan!" A burning resolved settled on her heart. In that moment, she thrown away her goals to lived in peace, just to find her missing brother.
For the first time in her life, she took the initiative to be proactive.
There was a hidden sector on the center of the Society Sphere. That place was made of a cubic metal of unknown make that shone mysteriously on the sunlight. Within that cubic metal lies a mixed world of ideas and symbols.
The majority of the room within were a blank void. A white canvas that doesn't have a shadow. In the middle of that blank space were a veritable randomness of pillars, chains, locks, and anything that could be considered as sealing at different cultures of the world.
Each objects varied in texture, despite most of them bearing the same visage. There were those who doesn't cast a shadow, those that were flat like they were sketched on the air, those that glitched out, those that overlapped with a lot of others, etc. Millions upon millions of these sealing objects littered that blank space. On the middle of these randomly scattered obstacles, there were a pulse of something. A smudge of visage that was barely humanoid could be seen on the middle, constantly changing sizes and positions, but fizzling out and instantly returning on the middle as if it was a badly recorded video.
That blank space was then contained by a transparent film. On that transparent film separated a room with a defined floor, walls, and ceiling. All of it barely had anything that could be considered a decoration, and most were white and clean. Though unlike the white canvas beyond the film, this room followed common logic like how a light casted shadows on the sides, and the likes.
On this room that oversaw the undefined space, there were many tall men of Caucasian descent that watched and wrote on their papers. Some having holographic panels. There was just something eerie about them. All of these men bore the same handsome appearance, from that black hair, to height, to that perfectly body, to everything else.
"Hm?" One of these men perked up, before he peered beyond the film that separated this room to that space that doesn't have a definite form. "How curious... is The Source stirring?"
Whatever was The Source is, all of these people with identical appearances frowned at the same time. It indicated that whatever it was, it's serious.
The sound of a loud footstep alerted them from the arrival of someone. They turned and saw another man that had the same appearance as them. Though this man wore casual clothes, as if he was just done on his shopping. His black branded glasses obscured his bluish eyes. His hands were obscured on the pockets of his long black pants.
"That was new. I thought it will take her a few million years before she can move." The new arrival said, before a smirk formed on his lips. "That doesn't matter. Increase the layers of seals and contaminants on the Sealing Chamber."
"Yes, Director." All of them quickly got to work after his words, before they operated something with their hands.
The subtle and imperceptible shake within the blank space stopped. As that was happening, the man with the casual clothes shrugged his shoulders as he moved away.
"Hm. It seems like I have to develop more versions so she would stay asleep. How troublesome..." He left with those words muttered under his breathe.
As the others of his look-alikes worked with their holographic terminals, deep within the arrays of symbols and metaphysical objects, a vaguely feminine form lies, heavily chained and restrained by unknown objects all over her body. Only her lower face could be seen, as almost every part of her body were bounded by the mysterious, paradoxically prismatic yet monochromatic objects of unknown shapes and textures. Though despite those binds, charisma still ooze out of her aura.
The exposed lips that has long stayed in a neutral expression slowly quirked into a soft smile. With that smile, the whole space itself shook as a rhythmic noise that doesn't make sense resounded on her very vicinity. The sound was a mixed of every beautiful music that became discordant, likely due to the obstacles and objects littering this space.
It might sound incoherent, though if someone could understand it, they would have heard these words.
'Finally, I found you, O Brave Hero!'
No one would know of this place. It was a small event that won't reached the public. Only the man in charge of this sector knew of the existence of the being they dubbed as The Source.
A being who was originally known as The True Goddess.
She let out a tired sigh before she sat up and read the text. It was the final notification from the Divine Wings Office about the compensation. Despite seeing five billion credits being added on her bank account, she wasn't happy.
"What do they mean there is nothing they could do!?" She grunted under her breathe before she stood up, and then stomped her foot on the floor.
A strong thud echoed on the room. Thankfully the materials that made up the floor was extremely durable, otherwise she would be making a hole on it. She doesn't about that that as her shoulders trembled.
"... He's the only person I have left..." Tears formed and slipped on her cheeks. Her hair covered her upper face.
She took a few moments to calm herself, though she couldn't. She had been waiting, but there was nothing but the statement from the Divine Wings.
"... I have to try again!" She quickly turned to her phone that has been newly repaired.
It only took her a moment before she got onto a certain site. The site was an official government site that issued ID permits for entry on higher sectors. She made another request to visit a higher sector and waited for a moment. She doesn't have the heart to even continue playing with this current event.
It took a few minutes before she got a notification. Quickly she looked at it, before she bit her lips in anger. On the screen of her phone, the whole reply that could be basically be summarized as a rejection of her request was plastered on her notification bar.
It goes into detail why she was unqualified for it. That she should have the required qualifications.
The basic and the quickest way to have the permission was to become an Awakened with a higher rank. With a single request, Sector Customs would quickly processed and gave them accessed to higher sectors. There were other ways even as a lower ranking Awakener.
For the lower ranking Awakeners, they could raise their standing by either tournaments or if they became honor students from their schools. She has read that, but she was hesitant.
She still had hoped that through sheer stubbornness, she might have the chance to get to Sector 252. She had tried the others she found on the internet, though she doesn't find most of the suggestions satisfactory.
On UnitedSequence, there were some anons that suggested that they should illegally enter the tracks to the higher sectors, or they should hack the system so they could acquire access to other sectors. Those were extremely risky, and as a person who doesn't want to find trouble, she didn't have the courage to try it.
"... Why is this happening!" She sat on the couch once more. Her phone landing on her side as she held onto her head. "That stupid big brother... I told him not to do this dangerous thing!" She screamed out.
She constantly said that since she came back home after she woke up from the hospital. Her emotions were in chaos. The majority that she felt were frustration and sadness. There were many thoughts that came to her mind, most of them finding what she could blame.
On her mind, she felt that it was the Divine Wings fault. There were some parts of her that even blamed her brother for being stubborn, or herself for not being pushy when she tried to stop him. Though within her heart she knew, it was just an unfortunate incident. Blaming everything won't help her.
"Dammit!" Her heart was disturbed. She couldn't concentrate due to the thought of her brother.
It's been three days now, and she was still met with indecision. She was confused what she should do next.
She heard the phone vibrated, and with a frustrated sigh she looked at it. She saw it was an Intersync notification. It was a chat from Selena Zephes herself. She didn't care and just threw the phone back on the couch besides her, before she leaned her head on the top of the couch.
"What should I do now...!" Her grumbled echoed within her, and even when she tried to calm herself, she couldn't help but feel irritated.
She stared at the ceilings for awhile, before she finally felt her stomach grumbling. She looked at the clock and saw that she has been here for an hour now, just moping.
"... Tsk..." She couldn't form any words. She decided to order a food for now and calm herself down.
After she was done with her takeout meal, she just realized that she haven't used her daily doubling to this day. She have been distressed this past three days, so she haven't changed her routine and barely put her attention to it. She half-consciously put her daily doubling on her stamina.
"... I don't feel any tired at all." She doesn't find it appropriate to put her charge to her stamina once more, so she decided to change it up.
She thought about it for a moment.
She doesn't have any desire to go to a Specialty School. Her brother was gone, so she doesn't really liked the idea of finding success for herself. She could easily accumulate her wealth if she focused her doubling on her credit account, but she doesn't felt like doing it.
She looked at her phone once more. Her brows furrowed for a moment with her lips in a neutral thin line. She browsed the internet for a moment, and then stopped. Reflected on her eyes were the words of the honor students, and the benefits of being one.
"... I have to get to Sector 252..." She couldn't move on. It was her brother who was missing. The only remaining family member that she got.
Even if she doesn't want to do something illegal, she still wanted to go there and find her brother. She sighed as she realized that she have no choice on the matter.
"... It seems like I have to go back to school then..." She muttered under her breathe.
She was reluctant. That school was hostile to those who they perceived as a coward. Though it was the only legal thing she could do if she wanted to rise to the top.
With those thoughts, she finally decided what to increase on her capabilities. She had long time realized that her mind couldn't process what she was doing after she already reacted to it. Her reflexes was good, but she wanted her thoughts to keep up with it. She doesn't want to just react and barely realized what was happening to her while she reacted to danger.
Her mind was made up. She would go back to that school.
"... I have to raise my rank then! Wait for me, Onii-chan!" A burning resolved settled on her heart. In that moment, she thrown away her goals to lived in peace, just to find her missing brother.
For the first time in her life, she took the initiative to be proactive.
There was a hidden sector on the center of the Society Sphere. That place was made of a cubic metal of unknown make that shone mysteriously on the sunlight. Within that cubic metal lies a mixed world of ideas and symbols.
The majority of the room within were a blank void. A white canvas that doesn't have a shadow. In the middle of that blank space were a veritable randomness of pillars, chains, locks, and anything that could be considered as sealing at different cultures of the world.
Each objects varied in texture, despite most of them bearing the same visage. There were those who doesn't cast a shadow, those that were flat like they were sketched on the air, those that glitched out, those that overlapped with a lot of others, etc. Millions upon millions of these sealing objects littered that blank space. On the middle of these randomly scattered obstacles, there were a pulse of something. A smudge of visage that was barely humanoid could be seen on the middle, constantly changing sizes and positions, but fizzling out and instantly returning on the middle as if it was a badly recorded video.
That blank space was then contained by a transparent film. On that transparent film separated a room with a defined floor, walls, and ceiling. All of it barely had anything that could be considered a decoration, and most were white and clean. Though unlike the white canvas beyond the film, this room followed common logic like how a light casted shadows on the sides, and the likes.
On this room that oversaw the undefined space, there were many tall men of Caucasian descent that watched and wrote on their papers. Some having holographic panels. There was just something eerie about them. All of these men bore the same handsome appearance, from that black hair, to height, to that perfectly body, to everything else.
"Hm?" One of these men perked up, before he peered beyond the film that separated this room to that space that doesn't have a definite form. "How curious... is The Source stirring?"
Whatever was The Source is, all of these people with identical appearances frowned at the same time. It indicated that whatever it was, it's serious.
The sound of a loud footstep alerted them from the arrival of someone. They turned and saw another man that had the same appearance as them. Though this man wore casual clothes, as if he was just done on his shopping. His black branded glasses obscured his bluish eyes. His hands were obscured on the pockets of his long black pants.
"That was new. I thought it will take her a few million years before she can move." The new arrival said, before a smirk formed on his lips. "That doesn't matter. Increase the layers of seals and contaminants on the Sealing Chamber."
"Yes, Director." All of them quickly got to work after his words, before they operated something with their hands.
The subtle and imperceptible shake within the blank space stopped. As that was happening, the man with the casual clothes shrugged his shoulders as he moved away.
"Hm. It seems like I have to develop more versions so she would stay asleep. How troublesome..." He left with those words muttered under his breathe.
As the others of his look-alikes worked with their holographic terminals, deep within the arrays of symbols and metaphysical objects, a vaguely feminine form lies, heavily chained and restrained by unknown objects all over her body. Only her lower face could be seen, as almost every part of her body were bounded by the mysterious, paradoxically prismatic yet monochromatic objects of unknown shapes and textures. Though despite those binds, charisma still ooze out of her aura.
The exposed lips that has long stayed in a neutral expression slowly quirked into a soft smile. With that smile, the whole space itself shook as a rhythmic noise that doesn't make sense resounded on her very vicinity. The sound was a mixed of every beautiful music that became discordant, likely due to the obstacles and objects littering this space.
It might sound incoherent, though if someone could understand it, they would have heard these words.
'Finally, I found you, O Brave Hero!'
No one would know of this place. It was a small event that won't reached the public. Only the man in charge of this sector knew of the existence of the being they dubbed as The Source.
A being who was originally known as The True Goddess.
So this chapter will set a long spanning arc that I am planning. It won't get to it quickly, but my plan is that Aizu will slowly learn about it. That's the initial plan by the way, so this chapter was a bit important...
That's all for now, hope you have fun in this chapter too!~
If you want to support me, you can go to my Kofi account here.
Thank you for reading this!~♪
That's all for now, hope you have fun in this chapter too!~
If you want to support me, you can go to my Kofi account here.
Thank you for reading this!~♪
Last edited:
- Location
- parker colorado
I see now, The hero did get to live in peace probably for several generations. But without him around the situation gradually degraded until we reach this time. The Hero's will to fight has been reawakened. Those poor smucks in charge have no idea what is coming for them.
Chapter 15: Open Challenge (OLD)
Levelgap
Wielder of Destruction
Two days later, Monday.
She glanced at the notification that only existed within her mind as she watched the scenery beyond the windows of the bus. She bore a neutral expression as she gazed at it.
She glanced at her phone, and then picked one of them games she had there. She still had time, so she thought she might be able to finish some of her dailies before she got to school.
Though when the title screen of the game showed on the screen of her phone, she quickly tabbed it out and swiped the tab away, closing the application. After that she sighed in frustration.
"I can't concentrate..." She muttered under her breathe.
Despite trying to get herself in the mood for it, she just couldn't. Regardless of how bored she was, when she realized that she was getting back to her usual routine, she always froze and became contemplative, before she lost motivation altogether. She was both frustrated and exhausted at this. She doesn't know how to cope with her current state right now.
"... Whatever. I'll just go to school, raise my rank, and get the permit to Sector 252." After she reaffirmed her resolve, she put her phone back on her bag as she watched the scenery from the windows of the bus.
Within Class 1-12 on the St. Angela Academy, those who were early sat on the room and conversed with one another. Their homeroom teacher wasn't here yet, so most were doing their own thing.
Some of them glanced to the entrance as they heard the door slid open. A few instinctively moved to their seats before they stopped as they realized who entered.
It was the young brunette who retaliated against their strongest in this class with a straight punch. Otodera Yuuki gawked when he saw her enter the room, and instead of scurrying straight to her seat, she actually got closer to him.
"... W-what?" His body was tensed as his arm almost raised to cover his face. His nose still had a patch and some wraps of bandages around it. Students were given free healthcare, but only the mundane ones, and the damage she inflicted on him deformed his nose that he could still feel the pain from it.
It was understandable why he was intimidated when she got close to him.
"W-wait... isn't that the one who punched Yuuki...?"
"She didn't show herself since Wednesday. What is she doing here?"
"Oh god, she walked straight to Yuuki? Did he do something?"
Even when he was the known strongest in this class, his defeat dampened their amazement at him. Now they silently watched as Aizu stared down at the guy sitting with a tense expression. When she opened her mouth, the guy almost flinched before she spoke.
"Fight me at the dome."
"Don't hit me in the face again... wait what?" The guy looked up, confused.
"I'm challenging you to a battle. Isn't this how it works on this school?" Aizu then turned to the people on this room. "Not just him. Anyone can challenge me. Just feel free to do so." She calmly said, much to the shock of the others.
The others were shocked at her words. The last time they saw her, she always said she didn't want to participate in something like this. They were baffled at this sudden exchange of heart.
Aizu turned to Yuuki once more when he was left dumbfounded, then she sighed. "I thought you want to fight me? I'm challenging you now... so will you accept or not?" She asked with her brows turning sharp, her eyes narrowed at him.
Those words felt like a sword stabbing to his pride. He gritted his teeth.
"Of course I accept! Come on, let's do this on the dome!" He stood up, and tried to bumped into her shoulder as he tried walked passed her, though he simply staggered. Surprised at the solid feedback he felt.
Aizu raised an eyebrow, her frown becoming evident. His body shook for a moment as he jumped, before quickly taking a few steps away.
"What?" Aizu asked in a flat tone.
"..." Without managing to answer, he turned his back to her and left the room. Aizu followed a short later, along with her classmates who became excited and curious at the upcoming battle.
The students of Class 1-12 gathered at the school dome where the battle arena was located. The two used the small one, which was a fifteen meter circular area. The two stood at a position five meters apart each other.
The students only watched on the sides outside the ring. They weren't really expecting the battle to get long, so they haven't taken any seats from the audience area. The school system detected that registered students took a step on the ring, and as they were standing there for awhile now, it considered that they were going to fight each other.
So a holographic screen opened, showing their face on the screen with the word "VS" in-between their image. Below were their names, school ID number, school ranking, ability ranking, class, the name of their ability, and their ranking points.
[Please remember the rules of combat. Killing is prohibited. Inflicting fatal blows are allowed. Winning conditions are either knockout, surrendering, being put in a situation where it is impossible for the opposing party to continue fighting, and ring out. If both combatants understands these, you may start the fight!]
She was strangely feeling nostalgic at those words. She had heard it once when she first entered this dome after all. The school repeated this message anytime someone was going to start a fight.
Among their classmates were some who were well-known on their little circle watching the fight. One was a lanky guy who wore glasses, and the others were the tall-ish guy who had an exotic light yellow skin, and a blonde haired girl with green eyes. These were Enrico Luciano, Eduardo Papel, and Lisa Walker respectively.
"I'm surprised that she came back. I thought she quit our school..." The tall-ish boy said in amusement, his hands propped behind the back of his head as he watched the impending fight.
"It was surprising indeed. I'd have taken her as a loner who doesn't want to be bothered..." Lisa Walker said besides him.
The guy with the glasses besides them was silent. He simply watched on the sidelines in a quiet calmness. Without minding that, the two talked as they waited for the battle to start.
"So, who do you think will be the victor? My guess would be the brunette there..."
"Huh... well, she just took him by surprise at that time. I think Yuuki got this in the bag. I fought him myself, and his pretty good at fighting close."
"I see. Then we shall see whether Yuuki can achieve victory or lost once more by Aizu's hands!"
"Okay...?" He glanced at the blonde girl for a moment. "So, you still making that?"
On her hands were sweetened buns that were changing shapes into six-petaled flower-shaped breads. This girl that spoke like a high lady was carrying a plastic full of sweetened buns, and her other hand was touching them and then putting them within another container besides her.
"Of course, I have seen that I was unsuited for the life of an Awakener. I saw fit to change my profession into something worthwhile of my talents." There was pride in her tone there as she said that. "Now silence. The fight has begun!"
"Wait!"
On the ring, Aizu was planning to initiate when Yuuki suddenly shouted. She paused and then frowned, furrowing her brows in confusion.
"I'll fight you if you won't hit my face. Otherwise, I'll quit!"
Some of the students turned a disappointed gazed at him, and he could feel that, though he won't back down from that decision. He felt that punch on his face. He didn't want to experience that pain once more.
Aizu wasn't obligated to do so. They were already at the ring, and the school system officially recognized their match. If he quit now, she would get the points and he would have his first loss.
"Sure." But she couldn't be bothered to argue. She also have no plans to even hit him in the face.
"You said it! You won't hit my face!"
The way he sound felt pathetic to the others. It made some lost more of their respect to him. He doesn't care. He just wanted to win.
With her nod, Yuuki smiled before he lowered his stance. When she saw that, she also decided to get closer by kicking the ground. This was when the brief battle started. It was brief because of the following scene.
Yuuki, feeling confident that she won't go for his face, immediately tried to capitalized on his double speed. He saw that she was moving the same speed as him, though as he recalled that she was just an F Ranker, he thought there was some limitation on her strength.
So he tried to wait for a moment until he tried to sidestep her with his feet just on the right spot that she would trip if she took a wrong movement of her feet. He thought she couldn't keep up with her own speed.
He was surprised when instead of not noticing, she briefly glanced down and instead of stopping, she changed the trajectory of her feet. Instead of stepping, she stomped hard on his feet. The brief surge of pain caused his mind to go blank, and when he came to, he felt himself weightless as Aizu grabbed onto his legs.
She spun for a moment on the ring with his body, before she loosened her hold on his ankles, thus he flew on the air until he was out for the ring. He landed on the floor with a grunt. Gasping as he slid on the smooth floors below.
[Ring out detected! Aizu Koizumi wins!]
A holographic image occured with Aizu's image being pronounced. Below her point was added by a single point, and her ranked soared into the 18,000+ ranking.
This scene caused those who were watching on the sides to gawk. Eduardo's laid-back amusement became stiff as his arms fell to his side, while Lisa gasped for a moment, before panicking as she noticed her sweetened bun almost slipping out of her hand. Enrico simply put his finger on the rim of his glasses, nodding mysteriously.
While that was happening, Aizu looked at her classmates.
"So, who wants to fight me next?" She said. Her gaze was looking down at them, though there was a somber aura within her eyes as she glanced at her classmates.
Aizu's thought was simple.
'I can't be bothered to challenge anyone. I'll just make an open challenge!'
Aizu, at her core, was a lazy person. She might as well let her opponents come at her. Consent mattered in this school, so if someone higher ranking tried to challenge her, she would simply decline. She would only accept those whose ranks were either F or E. She thought she might be able to handle those.
This was her way of fighting to the top!
She glanced at the notification that only existed within her mind as she watched the scenery beyond the windows of the bus. She bore a neutral expression as she gazed at it.
She glanced at her phone, and then picked one of them games she had there. She still had time, so she thought she might be able to finish some of her dailies before she got to school.
Though when the title screen of the game showed on the screen of her phone, she quickly tabbed it out and swiped the tab away, closing the application. After that she sighed in frustration.
"I can't concentrate..." She muttered under her breathe.
Despite trying to get herself in the mood for it, she just couldn't. Regardless of how bored she was, when she realized that she was getting back to her usual routine, she always froze and became contemplative, before she lost motivation altogether. She was both frustrated and exhausted at this. She doesn't know how to cope with her current state right now.
"... Whatever. I'll just go to school, raise my rank, and get the permit to Sector 252." After she reaffirmed her resolve, she put her phone back on her bag as she watched the scenery from the windows of the bus.
Within Class 1-12 on the St. Angela Academy, those who were early sat on the room and conversed with one another. Their homeroom teacher wasn't here yet, so most were doing their own thing.
Some of them glanced to the entrance as they heard the door slid open. A few instinctively moved to their seats before they stopped as they realized who entered.
It was the young brunette who retaliated against their strongest in this class with a straight punch. Otodera Yuuki gawked when he saw her enter the room, and instead of scurrying straight to her seat, she actually got closer to him.
"... W-what?" His body was tensed as his arm almost raised to cover his face. His nose still had a patch and some wraps of bandages around it. Students were given free healthcare, but only the mundane ones, and the damage she inflicted on him deformed his nose that he could still feel the pain from it.
It was understandable why he was intimidated when she got close to him.
"W-wait... isn't that the one who punched Yuuki...?"
"She didn't show herself since Wednesday. What is she doing here?"
"Oh god, she walked straight to Yuuki? Did he do something?"
Even when he was the known strongest in this class, his defeat dampened their amazement at him. Now they silently watched as Aizu stared down at the guy sitting with a tense expression. When she opened her mouth, the guy almost flinched before she spoke.
"Fight me at the dome."
"Don't hit me in the face again... wait what?" The guy looked up, confused.
"I'm challenging you to a battle. Isn't this how it works on this school?" Aizu then turned to the people on this room. "Not just him. Anyone can challenge me. Just feel free to do so." She calmly said, much to the shock of the others.
The others were shocked at her words. The last time they saw her, she always said she didn't want to participate in something like this. They were baffled at this sudden exchange of heart.
Aizu turned to Yuuki once more when he was left dumbfounded, then she sighed. "I thought you want to fight me? I'm challenging you now... so will you accept or not?" She asked with her brows turning sharp, her eyes narrowed at him.
Those words felt like a sword stabbing to his pride. He gritted his teeth.
"Of course I accept! Come on, let's do this on the dome!" He stood up, and tried to bumped into her shoulder as he tried walked passed her, though he simply staggered. Surprised at the solid feedback he felt.
Aizu raised an eyebrow, her frown becoming evident. His body shook for a moment as he jumped, before quickly taking a few steps away.
"What?" Aizu asked in a flat tone.
"..." Without managing to answer, he turned his back to her and left the room. Aizu followed a short later, along with her classmates who became excited and curious at the upcoming battle.
The students of Class 1-12 gathered at the school dome where the battle arena was located. The two used the small one, which was a fifteen meter circular area. The two stood at a position five meters apart each other.
The students only watched on the sides outside the ring. They weren't really expecting the battle to get long, so they haven't taken any seats from the audience area. The school system detected that registered students took a step on the ring, and as they were standing there for awhile now, it considered that they were going to fight each other.
So a holographic screen opened, showing their face on the screen with the word "VS" in-between their image. Below were their names, school ID number, school ranking, ability ranking, class, the name of their ability, and their ranking points.
[Please remember the rules of combat. Killing is prohibited. Inflicting fatal blows are allowed. Winning conditions are either knockout, surrendering, being put in a situation where it is impossible for the opposing party to continue fighting, and ring out. If both combatants understands these, you may start the fight!]
She was strangely feeling nostalgic at those words. She had heard it once when she first entered this dome after all. The school repeated this message anytime someone was going to start a fight.
Among their classmates were some who were well-known on their little circle watching the fight. One was a lanky guy who wore glasses, and the others were the tall-ish guy who had an exotic light yellow skin, and a blonde haired girl with green eyes. These were Enrico Luciano, Eduardo Papel, and Lisa Walker respectively.
"I'm surprised that she came back. I thought she quit our school..." The tall-ish boy said in amusement, his hands propped behind the back of his head as he watched the impending fight.
"It was surprising indeed. I'd have taken her as a loner who doesn't want to be bothered..." Lisa Walker said besides him.
The guy with the glasses besides them was silent. He simply watched on the sidelines in a quiet calmness. Without minding that, the two talked as they waited for the battle to start.
"So, who do you think will be the victor? My guess would be the brunette there..."
"Huh... well, she just took him by surprise at that time. I think Yuuki got this in the bag. I fought him myself, and his pretty good at fighting close."
"I see. Then we shall see whether Yuuki can achieve victory or lost once more by Aizu's hands!"
"Okay...?" He glanced at the blonde girl for a moment. "So, you still making that?"
On her hands were sweetened buns that were changing shapes into six-petaled flower-shaped breads. This girl that spoke like a high lady was carrying a plastic full of sweetened buns, and her other hand was touching them and then putting them within another container besides her.
"Of course, I have seen that I was unsuited for the life of an Awakener. I saw fit to change my profession into something worthwhile of my talents." There was pride in her tone there as she said that. "Now silence. The fight has begun!"
"Wait!"
On the ring, Aizu was planning to initiate when Yuuki suddenly shouted. She paused and then frowned, furrowing her brows in confusion.
"I'll fight you if you won't hit my face. Otherwise, I'll quit!"
Some of the students turned a disappointed gazed at him, and he could feel that, though he won't back down from that decision. He felt that punch on his face. He didn't want to experience that pain once more.
Aizu wasn't obligated to do so. They were already at the ring, and the school system officially recognized their match. If he quit now, she would get the points and he would have his first loss.
"Sure." But she couldn't be bothered to argue. She also have no plans to even hit him in the face.
"You said it! You won't hit my face!"
The way he sound felt pathetic to the others. It made some lost more of their respect to him. He doesn't care. He just wanted to win.
With her nod, Yuuki smiled before he lowered his stance. When she saw that, she also decided to get closer by kicking the ground. This was when the brief battle started. It was brief because of the following scene.
Yuuki, feeling confident that she won't go for his face, immediately tried to capitalized on his double speed. He saw that she was moving the same speed as him, though as he recalled that she was just an F Ranker, he thought there was some limitation on her strength.
So he tried to wait for a moment until he tried to sidestep her with his feet just on the right spot that she would trip if she took a wrong movement of her feet. He thought she couldn't keep up with her own speed.
He was surprised when instead of not noticing, she briefly glanced down and instead of stopping, she changed the trajectory of her feet. Instead of stepping, she stomped hard on his feet. The brief surge of pain caused his mind to go blank, and when he came to, he felt himself weightless as Aizu grabbed onto his legs.
She spun for a moment on the ring with his body, before she loosened her hold on his ankles, thus he flew on the air until he was out for the ring. He landed on the floor with a grunt. Gasping as he slid on the smooth floors below.
[Ring out detected! Aizu Koizumi wins!]
A holographic image occured with Aizu's image being pronounced. Below her point was added by a single point, and her ranked soared into the 18,000+ ranking.
This scene caused those who were watching on the sides to gawk. Eduardo's laid-back amusement became stiff as his arms fell to his side, while Lisa gasped for a moment, before panicking as she noticed her sweetened bun almost slipping out of her hand. Enrico simply put his finger on the rim of his glasses, nodding mysteriously.
While that was happening, Aizu looked at her classmates.
"So, who wants to fight me next?" She said. Her gaze was looking down at them, though there was a somber aura within her eyes as she glanced at her classmates.
Aizu's thought was simple.
'I can't be bothered to challenge anyone. I'll just make an open challenge!'
Aizu, at her core, was a lazy person. She might as well let her opponents come at her. Consent mattered in this school, so if someone higher ranking tried to challenge her, she would simply decline. She would only accept those whose ranks were either F or E. She thought she might be able to handle those.
This was her way of fighting to the top!
So here, Aizu's battle plan is simple. Just let the enemies get to her. As for the combat itself, Aizu is lazy. As she got the strength for it, instead of doing some flashy combat techniques, she just decided to yeet her enemies with brute strength.
She is four times stronger physically, and they were at the same age as her. It is logical to think that she is four or two times stronger than any of her age group, regardless of gender.
That was her logic here, anyway. Yeeting enemies one at a time xD
Sorry for the late update. I got incredibly busy yesterday, and something distracted me awhile ago... The first part of this chapter was a slog to write too that I rushed it off after I was stuck staring at my phone for an hour.
I hope you have fun!~
By the way, on the past two days she had upgraded both her Reaction Speed and Thought Process. Just saying if you are curious...
If you want to support me, you can go to my Kofi account here.
Thank you for reading this!~♪
She is four times stronger physically, and they were at the same age as her. It is logical to think that she is four or two times stronger than any of her age group, regardless of gender.
That was her logic here, anyway. Yeeting enemies one at a time xD
Sorry for the late update. I got incredibly busy yesterday, and something distracted me awhile ago... The first part of this chapter was a slog to write too that I rushed it off after I was stuck staring at my phone for an hour.
I hope you have fun!~
By the way, on the past two days she had upgraded both her Reaction Speed and Thought Process. Just saying if you are curious...
If you want to support me, you can go to my Kofi account here.
Thank you for reading this!~♪
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- Location
- New Zealand
Maybe she needs to double her concentration 🤔
Just asking
Levelgap
Wielder of Destruction
So some readers from SB gave me some feedbacks and critics that made me realized I was derailing from what I originally intended for this story.
I was writing something so it would return to what it was supposed to be, like Aizu actually being lazy and not just acting like it... though I think I won't be able to justify it and I might just ruin this story if I continue on this one...
Instead, I think I should rewrite the last three chapters. What do you think anyone?
I was writing something so it would return to what it was supposed to be, like Aizu actually being lazy and not just acting like it... though I think I won't be able to justify it and I might just ruin this story if I continue on this one...
Instead, I think I should rewrite the last three chapters. What do you think anyone?
I think the shift was a bit too abrupt. Her going from lazy to determined was so fast, IMO, and she still feels a bit aimless? Or at least like she is going in without a real plan or focus.
It makes me think of all the 'system integration' stories I've read where the MC is driven to find out what happened to their family and contact/meet them and they turn down opportunities until someone gives them a bit of wisdom of "seek strength and you'll meet them and be safe, but rush to meet them and you'll find them then lose what you have without the strength to defend it."
Frankly, I like that she is now really being pushed to better herself and will have to think of more ways to improve, not just relying on her daily double and possibly spending time training. There's so many directions you can take the plot but I'm really looking forward to it continuing from where it currently is at.
- Location
- parker colorado
My advice is that once she starts reaching high in the rankings her brother manages to save himself. Make her leave the lazy lifestyle for no reason to her horror. Or just wait to have her brother go missing until later and instead have Angela being her friend be the reason for her getting battles.
Just make her brother come back on his own a few weeks later, when she is already almost all the way at the top. I want to see her meltdown when she finds out she stopped being lazy for nothing. (Well, not for nothing, she might still have to go after her brother later, but it would still be funny)
Okay, rewriting chapter 13 to 15
Levelgap
Wielder of Destruction
Okay, thank you everyone for your advices and helpful feedbacks. I decided to rewrite the last three chapters.
After reading those, I realized that it was too abrupt. My only reason for that is that I was just slogging through until I get to the part I wanted to write (just like the Dimensional Breach part). It's been my own problem because I don't want to get stuck on one part. It kills my motivation whenever I looked at my screen for a long time without any progress, and many distractions along with it. So thank you for letting me know.
I hope you have a nice day, and thank you once again for helping me out here!~
After reading those, I realized that it was too abrupt. My only reason for that is that I was just slogging through until I get to the part I wanted to write (just like the Dimensional Breach part). It's been my own problem because I don't want to get stuck on one part. It kills my motivation whenever I looked at my screen for a long time without any progress, and many distractions along with it. So thank you for letting me know.
I hope you have a nice day, and thank you once again for helping me out here!~
- Location
- parker colorado
No problem glad we could help.
Chapter 13: Waking Up
Levelgap
Wielder of Destruction
In a certain world, there once existed a brave village boy who doesn't tolerate injustice. He fought those who bullied his friend, go on the nearby forest to help forage and hunt for the village, and practice fighting so he could protect the village when he grew up.
After bandits came to raid their village, he protected the village despite being young. Though he was gentle, he wasn't naive and knew that he can't protect anyone without being courageous. Instead of killing everyone, he used his mind and goes straight to the leader of the bandits, killing him.
That was the start of his first legend.
As he grew older, he accumulated feats from himself. Becoming a bandit slayer, then later uprooting corruption to his kingdom. Killing ancient evils and dragons. Befriending spirits and other known figures, even defeating a demon lord.
The Goddess was impressed at his accomplishments, and she was so curious that she descended to greet him. She was more curious about one thing, more than the achievements he got.
"Why do you go around and save everyone?"
The hero smiled at her way before he answered.
"Because I can't help it..."
The Goddess was baffled. "Why?" She asked.
"... I don't know. When I found someone in trouble, my body just move on it's own." He looked up at the clear skies as he said that. "Is it a bad thing? I think I'm satisfied with what I'm doing..."
The Goddess furrowed her brows. She easily discerned that he was troubled by this, though she didn't pursue as he quickly dismissed it.
And so she continue to observed him. After his first life, he once again became a hero for the world. Despite reincarnating, he always was going around and saving anyone. Regardless of his status in life, and the unfairness of reality slamming him to the ground, he walked forward with his head held high, still doing his duty unperturbed.
In one instance of his life, she became more concerned at him and can't help but ask once more.
"Are you really satisfied with what you're doing? Isn't it enough that you sacrificed so much for the masses?"
He shook his head. "How can I stop, when evil still lurked on this world?"
"But there were many heroes like you. I really hope you stop and think about yourself..."
She was genuinely worried for the hero. In every of his incarnations, he just moved for the masses. There wasn't any regards to his own well-being.
Despite her concerns, he simply shook it away.
"I can't stop. So long as suffering exists, I wouldn't stop until the world is at peace..."
There was something deep within those words. A hidden meaning that she couldn't discern.
And so, time passed for a long time. Many of his incarnations passed away and reincarnated into another one. They all became heroes regardless of the era of the world.
Until finally, on his latest incarnation, he fought against a great evil. So great that they even suppressed the divine. Everyone fought and died along with him, and then it ended with a pyrrhic victory. 90% of their troops died, but they managed to vanquished the great evil.
As she heard the final wish of the hero, she finally understood. The hidden intention within his heart bursting as he looked at the barren skies above.
That wish was so simple, yet it revealed everything.
On every incarnations he had, he always lived poorly. Everytime he was obligated by others, and he couldn't helped but save them. Even when no one was asking him for it, he was forced to be responsible for it.
Every people asked for someone to save them, and he was one of the very few who always answered that call. A person who couldn't rest due to the expectations of the others.
He was tired. Yet he tried to meet the expectation of the others. He couldn't stand by and let things happen, as it was against his very principle.
His wish was very pure. It contained his long held wish to himself. To be free of this burden from everyone, and just be himself.
The Goddess weep, as she kneeled on the corpse of the hero. She gently caressed the hair of the hero, humming a beautiful tune that acted as a departure song for those who lost their lives on the battle.
"Sleep well, O Brave Hero. The next time you open your eyes, no more suffering will come for you. I swear it as the True Goddess!"
And so, that was the end of the hero that saved a hundred worlds.
'... Where...?'
She woke up, and saw the white ceiling. The comfort of the reclining bed and it's soft blanket, and the white sheets that covered her body made her feel warmth. The electrical pulse rhythmically resounded with a calm slowness as she sat up and glanced around.
"... I'm in the hospital...?"
She looked at herself and saw that she was wearing a white plain gown. It felt very loose to her body, and made her shiver for a moment as the white sheets slip down to her lap when she sat up.
'... Right...' She recalled about the event that happened before she lost consciousness. 'If I am here and alive, then that meant the city was saved, right?'
She let out a sigh of relief at that. With that relief, her body that she doesn't know was tensed relaxed and then she laid on the bed comfortably. She looked at the ceilings for a moment, before she recalled about something.
"Oh right, where is my phone!?" She quickly sat up once more and looked around. After she noticed that her phone was gone, she recalled about a neat function on the hospital and looked around the bed for a moment.
When she found the small device on the table just besides her bed, she took it and pushed the only button in there. It beeped for a moment, before after awhile a nurse entered.
"Oh, you are awake. What can I--"
"Phone!"
"... Pardon?" The nurse stopped at her tracks, and they tilted their head.
"Where is my phone!?" Aizu panicked as she asked.
The nurse blinked her eyes for a moment, before she smiled awkwardly. "If you are looking for your phone, it was currently stored safely on the nurse's desk. Would you like to get it now?" Aizu quickly nodded. "Then, before that I have to check you up first. Don't worry, this won't take long..."
"Eh..." Aizu whined.
Aizu heard that she got a premium treatment. She doesn't know how did that happen as she wasn't even that rich. She doesn't feel the ache on her body, or the wounds she acquired when she saved those people from being almost killed by the Iron Ant Legions.
She just got her phone back, and they said that she could leave after they were done with the documents. So she was waiting on her her, sitting on it's side as she tried to call her brother.
"Ugh... this is the third time. Just when is my brother going to take the call?"
She wanted to notify his brother about what happened. Though the call wasn't coming through. After the third time it failed, she finally decided to leave a text for his brother before she let out a sigh.
Someone entered the room once more, and she looked up, only to gawked in surprised when she saw the familiar appearance of the only A Rank on St. Angela Academy. Along with Selena was another blonde haired woman whom she recalled she had saved at that time.
"I heard you woke up, so I came here to see you." Selena crossed her arms just below her chest, before she gasped as a smack came behind her. "Why, Mom!?" She turned to the blonde haired woman besides her, a bit teary.
"Stop acting haughty in front of her. Your being rude!" The blonde haired woman, now identified as Selena's mother, then lowered her head at Aizu. "I apologize for my daughter. She didn't meant to be rude like that..."
"... Uh... okay...?" Aizu doesn't know how to respond to this. She was surprised, and at the same time confused by this.
"I'm not being rude!" Selena huffed in dissatisfaction before she glanced at Aizu. She stared at her for a moment, until they heard the sound of her mother letting out a grunt, which made the girl sigh and then resumed with a bow of her head. "Thank you..."
Aizu froze for a moment, confused. Though it took her a few seconds before she managed to processed why was this happening.
"That's right. We are grateful that you saved me from that monster. I'll be sure to remember this... uh..."
"Koizumi Aizu. Uh... I think it's Aizu Koizumi if we are going for the standard naming order..."
"Right, Miss Aizu. I'm Nessa Zephes, and this is my daughter..."
"Selena Zephes. I'm sure you know me, right?" Selena interjected with a huffed.
"Right... who wouldn't know? You are the rising star of our school!"
"Of course! It's impossible that you won't know me, being a student of our school... ow!" Her mother pinched her on the sides, which causes her to wince. With a sharp glance from her mother, Selena sighed. "... Right. I'm not here to gloat about myself. I am not someone who won't repay a favor. I'm here to tell you that if you need anything from me, then I will do it so long as it is possible. This is a favor for saving my Mom from that oversized insect!" She turned her head away, her cheek reddening for a moment in embarrassment.
Aizu stared at her for a moment. She doesn't really expected for her to say that. She mostly saw Selena as a self-centered person who seeks attention.
"Uh... okay, I will take note of that..." She pulled her face away when Selena suddenly leaned closer to her. "What!?"
"Do you have Intersync? I always saw you with a phone so..."
Intersync was the most popular social media on the lower sectors. Billions of people have an account on it. It was obvious that Aizu had an account for it, as she sometimes browsed the internet for new games.
With her nod, Selena quickly perked up.
"Then add me!"
"B-but why...?" Aizu felt a bit troubled.
"Because on this day, you are my friend!"
"... When did that happen...?"
"Just now, and you can't refuse!" She could see Selena's mother shaking her head with a sigh.
In the end, she added her on her Intersync. She wondered why Selena looked bright. She didn't thought she was anything special.
After that Selena stayed for a moment, accompanying her as she waited for her to be released. The blonde haired girl was generous enough to explain what happened after she lost consciousness.
She was surprised to hear that Selena was focal to the subjugation of the Dragon Centipede.
'So even someone who artificially awakened is this strong! A Ranks are really busted!'
She still recalled the destruction and collateral that was caused by that large centipede on the brief moment it breached on the Golden District. It made her shiver at that recollection, and was in awe that Selena could defeat something like that.
She heard that she made a 5,000ft Orichalcum pillar to crush that centipede, and indeed it could be seen even on this part of the city. They were currently two districts away from Golden District, and the visage of the glittering golden monolith was visible on the skies. It stood proud like a tower.
'That will definitely become a tourist attraction!' Aizu thought.
She really doesn't care though. Now that the crisis was done and everything returned to normal, she could go back to her daily life.
'I almost forgot... it seems like I was out for a day. I still feel that warm energy within my body... so I think I have to use that now...'
As she felt that she always lacked the stamina, she decided to upgrade that. She didn't want to experienced losing her breathe while she was fighting for her life. She at least wanted to have enough energy so she could run away.
Selena has left her alone after she got released from the hospital, and she was now on her way to her home through a bus. She was contemplating about the next school she should attend, as she was sure the Tinkerer's Club was destroyed due to the Dimensional Breach, when she felt the vibration of her phone and a notification above her screen.
She looked at he phone and saw that it was a text from her brother. She read that, and smiled wryly when she saw the message.
[WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU ARE AT A HOSPITAL!? ARE YOU ALRIGHT? PLEASE CALL BACK SOON!]
Just when she was done reading the text, her phone suddenly vibrated as the screen transitioned into a blurry one with the image of a telephone ringing with waves around it. She slide that animated telephone up, and when she saw that it turned green, it changed into the usual icons for calls. She picked the icon of a speaker volume before she spoke.
"AIZU, ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?" She was interrupted by her brother's loud and concerned voice behind the call.
"Yes. I'm fine." She rubbed one of her ears with her index finger as she answered. She was a bit surprised at the volume of his voice that she instinctively lowered the volume of her phone.
There was silence for a moment before she heard the sound of sighing behind the call.
"Thank god you are alright!" She also nodded at that, relieved that nothing serious happened to her. "So what happened?"
Aizu told him what happened based on her own perspective. How she bumped face to face with the giant dark centipede, how she saw office agents fighting against that centipede, how she was chased by a group of angry bipedal antlions, how she was saved by the Vermillion Knight herself, and how she fought before she lost consciousness.
She was exaggerating some of the events, like how she gallantly saved the agents being overwhelmed by the giant insects, or how she fought every insect horde by her lonesome. She only bragged to her brother whenever she got the chance as it was fun to her, and she knew her brother was just amusing her. Her brother simply hummed whenever she tried to exaggerate some parts of her story.
After she was done with her explanations, her brother became silent which made her tense. She had no reason to lie to him as he was family, but sometimes she held some thoughts whether she should withheld some information of herself as she doesn't want to be yelled at by her brother. In the end, she heard him sigh.
"... I'm sorry Aizu, I know you didn't like St. Angela, but I really have to urge you to go back there."
"... That was sudden. Why?" She was confused.
"... You didn't know... Wait, don't answer. I know why..." She heard her brother sigh once more, much to her confusion. "Look, I know you usually don't listen to class so I can understand. Let me explain to you about the facilities within the school..."
She doesn't care about that, though as her brother said it was important so she just shut up and listened to him. It was also true that she wasn't listening much on the class, and her focused was mostly at her phone.
Her brother explained some key components of the school which enlightened her about how useful the school was. Academics weren't the focus of the school, and she had noticed that because their homeroom teacher barely acknowledged the class when she was on her lecture.
Teachers encouraged the students to actually leave the classroom not just to go and fight on the battle dome, but to go to their other facilities. They have different facilities where specialized instructors were located that would help different types of students for their training. The teachers at each class were just in charge of their academic education, and if they wanted to pursue that then they could stay there. Though most students should go to the facilities around the school and train on those facilities.
Most students were restricted on their own rankings and class, though scholarship students and honor students could go to any of the facilities of the school without restriction.
She vaguely recalled having read that on the school pamphlet. She just didn't thought about it too much as she wasn't interested.
"... So why should I go back?" Aizu furrowed her brows.
"Because you need to learn self-defense. You are still in scholarship, so the facilities are still free for you to use."
"If I ever need protection, I can just focus on doubling my physical durability."
"Dimensional Breaches are no simple matter, Aizu. There are monsters out there who can ignore how tough you are and instantly kill you. It might be extremely rare for a breach to occur on that sector, but you know it will happen. You experienced it yourself!" His brother exhaled the breathe he held. "What am I saying is that you should learn how to actually fight so you can protect yourself. Society Sphere isn't that safe even if it looked peaceful. I always tell you that, right?"
"Oh shut up! You said that, but you are there also risking your life even though we can just live here in peace!" She grunted in frustration. "I was calling here hoping my dear Onii-chan will go back to my side and nurse me back to health. I'm hurt, you know!" Even when she tried to add a joke there at the end, she felt irritated at the words of her big brother.
"... Sorry, that will be impossible for a moment." She was curious about that, but that thought was pushed to the back as her brother quickly resumed speaking. "Also, it's not about me. It's about your safety here Aizu."
"I have my powers. There is no need to train myself on self-defense." Her brother was silent, and it took awhile before she finally let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine... I'll think about it..."
"Thank you." Her brother said.
After that, they talked for a moment before her brother finally dropped the call after she reassured him that she was fine.
"... Well, I said I will think about it. I didn't promise that I will go back there..." She said with a shrug.
She knew it was petty, and a pretty jerk-ish move, but she have no reason to go back to a school that promotes violence amongst it's students. Going back there was like willingly going straight to a slaughterhouse. It wasn't appealing for her planned life of a sloth.
She was a bit dissatisfied that her brother didn't go back to her side, though it's not much as he has conveyed how much he was worried for her. She still felt irritated at her brother about his lecture on her. She just doesn't like that.
With a bit of a huffed, she decided to cool her head down by playing some hack'n'slash gacha game from her phone.
After the call, Tadano sighed before he leaned back onto the comfortable bed. Surrounding him were scanners attached from smooth-looking mechanical arms. Their bluish rays illuminating his body, and soothing the pain that racked his whole body.
He handed his phone back to his colleague on his side. The woman took it and carefully put it on the table on the corner of the room.
"Are you sure you won't tell her what happened to you?" The woman, his senior at Divine Wings, asked with a curious quirk of her lips.
"There is no need for that, Mizari-senpai."
The auburn haired woman stiffened for a moment as he directed a gentle gaze at her. She quickly shook her head, before she frowned. She looked at the sorry state of the man.
There wasn't any noticeable wounds on his body, though he was incredibly pale. She knew why it was.
"... I'm really sorry for putting you in danger. Even though I'm the senior here..." She lowered her head in shame.
"Don't mind it. It's my fault I came back there to help you even though I can't do anything--"
"That's not true! Even though you are just a newbie, you are more braver than any of our veteran agents! You even saved me from that situation, so you are more qualified than any of those recruits!" She stomped her foot, a bit of heat shimmering around her figure.
He lowered his head for a moment. Just turning quiet to accept her words.
"... Don't worry. I'm a B Ranker, and I heard B Rankers can rise up to the Sector 200 if they tried their best. I will try my best..." She shook her head. "No, I swear I will help you recover!"
He winced, glancing at her with a complicated feeling. His body was healed of it's physical afflictions except one. It was his soul. His soul has been damaged when they encountered the rampant criminal group of this sector. They have been ambushed at that time, and most of the interns along with him ran away, leaving their seniors and their only mentor there.
Most of them died or were taken by these criminal group, and she would have been so if not for him who suddenly swoop in and saved her. It costs him an eighth of his soul, which was a huge amount for a single person. His vitality has been greatly diminished, and he always felt weak. Even when he could still use his powers, he wasn't in the condition to move comfortably. He was like a cripple.
Healthcare differed on each sectors. On Sector 252, natural regeneration enhancement pills and rapid regeneration machines were used to heal physical wounds, while nano-extractors were used for intimate and delicate lobotomization and other extremely hard surgeries. Even with technologies like those, soul recovery was impossible on this sector.
Soul recovery starts at Sector 215, though it wasn't that guaranteed. High quality soul recovery methods could be seen on Sector 200 and above.
"It's fine... you are already covering me up by using all these expensive machines."
"No. I have to repay this debt somehow! This treatment wasn't enough!" Mizari leaned closer with a pout.
He knew Mizari was a rich woman, and she had a fair amount of connections on this office. She was the one who requested for this treatment to prevent him from collapsing once more. The shock of his soul being damaged always inflicted extreme pain all over his body, so he needed this kind of rapid regeneration machines and soothing gases to relieve the pain.
He let out a sigh, before he recalled about his talk with his sister. He remembered a particular part of her story, and decided to quickly act on it.
"... By the way, I'm sorry but can you please hand me my phone once more. I have to call someone."
"Okay." The woman with a fairly attractive figure nodded to him before she carefully picked his phone and gave it to him.
He dialed a number quickly, wincing as he felt a bit of prickling pain at his wrists and arms whenever he moved his fingers. He finally managed to dial the number and call the person he was thinking about.
"Hello?"
Hearing the familiar voice of that woman made him smile for a moment. He doesn't noticed Mizari who suddenly raised an eyebrow when she heard the voice behind the phone. He was in speaker mode, as he didn't have the strength to put the phone on his ear.
"Hello. This is Tadano Koizumi. Do you still remember me, Secundra?"
"... Tadano, it's been so long! How are you?"
"Currently an intern on an office at the higher sectors. I'm slowly rising up to the ranks, and all that. How about you? I heard there was a breach on that city?"
"I see. So you really are going for that dream you told me huh..." He felt the amusement behind those words. "And yes, there was a breach in here. It was an A Rank breach too--"
"A Rank Breach!?"
"Yes... you didn't know?"
"... Right, I just heard it from my sister." 'Why didn't you tell me it was an A Rank Threat, Aizu!' He screamed within his mind as he answered her.
"You have a sister!?" He heard the sound of surprised on her tone.
He winced once more. "Oh right... I forgot to tell you. Yes, I have a sister..." He felt like smacking himself once more. He knew that it always slipped up on his mind to tell someone. He always has this trait since he was a child.
Without waiting for her to talked, he quickly decided to go straight to the point.
"I heard that you saved my sister from those breach. I know this is asking much, but can I ask you for a favor?"
"Wait... I saved your sister?"
"Yes. She told me you met those bipedal antlions and dealt with them..." He realized something. "... Right. She was the girl with brown hair and blue eyes, and was a bit smaller than me. Her height at least surpassed my chest height." He raised his eyebrow when the Vermillion Knight became silent for a moment, and he was almost going to ask what was wrong when she flinched and almost winced at the pain after she heard her laugh.
"Ah! So that young lady is your sister! I can see the resemblance!" She laughed, much to his surprise.
"... Well, we are siblings so it was natural for us to have resembling appearance, I think?"
"Not that. I meant that she was heroic just like you. She helped one of my men from the Iron Ant Legion's ambush!"
"Iron Ant Legion!? And wait, she helped!?"
He knew of the Iron Ant Legion. They were terrifying intelligent monsters who dug and ambushed unsuspecting people with overwhelming numbers. Many agents and even civilians fell to their hands, and were mangled beyond belief. He even fought five of those at the same time, and barely managed to snatch a victory while being riddled with wounds.
"Right, it was a full colony of them that breached the Atom District along with the Dragon Centipede, which appeared on the Golden District."
"Dragon Centipede!?" An A Rank Outsider that could destroy a sector all on it's own due to it's immunity against the mundane, and it's everlasting magical fire. The thought of that breaching on Sector 254 gave him chills. "Just how come that sector is still standing!?"
He might not have faced a Dragon Centipede yet, but he heard stories, and they were extremely terrifying.
Secundra explained to him, and he was becoming more shocked as the story goes on. His sister only told him about the breach based on her own perspective. She haven't said anything about the rankings of the monster, or the amount of destruction they made. She only said she was chased, and found a giant centipede. There were a lot of giant insect Outsiders so he couldn't possibly thought that she was talking about the Dragon Centipede.
And to hear that his sister was at the ground zero when that happened. His body turned cold, that the symptoms of his soul damage became prevalent on his mind, which caused him to winced in pain and grit his teeth.
"What's the problem?" Secundra noticed the labored breathing that suddenly occured from him. Even Mizari goes to his side in worry.
He simply shook his head, stopping his senior with a gesture of his hand, before he continued speaking.
"N-nothing..."
"... Is that so?" Secundra seemed to have noticed that he was hiding something, but if she noticed that then she decided to ignore it as she moved on to the original topic. "So, what do you want from me?"
"... Yes. About my sister, can I ask if you can spare some of your men to lookout for my sister. I really don't want her to be put in danger, and it will give me a peace of mind if I know what is happening to her."
He knew that he was asking too much. Even if he has done a lot of things with some people like her organization, he was just turned over recently by the principal of St. Angela. She doesn't know if she would accept his request.
"Sure." So he was surprised when she quickly answered. "I owe you a lot, and your sister saved my men so I owe her too a favor. Something like looking out for her can simply be done, so you don't have to worry."
Tadano was shocked, before slowly he nodded in relief.
"Thank you, that meant a lot to me!"
With that, they spent talking to each other for some time with Aizu's brother being happy that he still had good friends on that sector. He noticed Mizari pouting besides and crossing her arms with impatience, though he misunderstood it as her being bored.
After bandits came to raid their village, he protected the village despite being young. Though he was gentle, he wasn't naive and knew that he can't protect anyone without being courageous. Instead of killing everyone, he used his mind and goes straight to the leader of the bandits, killing him.
That was the start of his first legend.
As he grew older, he accumulated feats from himself. Becoming a bandit slayer, then later uprooting corruption to his kingdom. Killing ancient evils and dragons. Befriending spirits and other known figures, even defeating a demon lord.
The Goddess was impressed at his accomplishments, and she was so curious that she descended to greet him. She was more curious about one thing, more than the achievements he got.
"Why do you go around and save everyone?"
The hero smiled at her way before he answered.
"Because I can't help it..."
The Goddess was baffled. "Why?" She asked.
"... I don't know. When I found someone in trouble, my body just move on it's own." He looked up at the clear skies as he said that. "Is it a bad thing? I think I'm satisfied with what I'm doing..."
The Goddess furrowed her brows. She easily discerned that he was troubled by this, though she didn't pursue as he quickly dismissed it.
And so she continue to observed him. After his first life, he once again became a hero for the world. Despite reincarnating, he always was going around and saving anyone. Regardless of his status in life, and the unfairness of reality slamming him to the ground, he walked forward with his head held high, still doing his duty unperturbed.
In one instance of his life, she became more concerned at him and can't help but ask once more.
"Are you really satisfied with what you're doing? Isn't it enough that you sacrificed so much for the masses?"
He shook his head. "How can I stop, when evil still lurked on this world?"
"But there were many heroes like you. I really hope you stop and think about yourself..."
She was genuinely worried for the hero. In every of his incarnations, he just moved for the masses. There wasn't any regards to his own well-being.
Despite her concerns, he simply shook it away.
"I can't stop. So long as suffering exists, I wouldn't stop until the world is at peace..."
There was something deep within those words. A hidden meaning that she couldn't discern.
And so, time passed for a long time. Many of his incarnations passed away and reincarnated into another one. They all became heroes regardless of the era of the world.
Until finally, on his latest incarnation, he fought against a great evil. So great that they even suppressed the divine. Everyone fought and died along with him, and then it ended with a pyrrhic victory. 90% of their troops died, but they managed to vanquished the great evil.
As she heard the final wish of the hero, she finally understood. The hidden intention within his heart bursting as he looked at the barren skies above.
That wish was so simple, yet it revealed everything.
On every incarnations he had, he always lived poorly. Everytime he was obligated by others, and he couldn't helped but save them. Even when no one was asking him for it, he was forced to be responsible for it.
Every people asked for someone to save them, and he was one of the very few who always answered that call. A person who couldn't rest due to the expectations of the others.
He was tired. Yet he tried to meet the expectation of the others. He couldn't stand by and let things happen, as it was against his very principle.
His wish was very pure. It contained his long held wish to himself. To be free of this burden from everyone, and just be himself.
The Goddess weep, as she kneeled on the corpse of the hero. She gently caressed the hair of the hero, humming a beautiful tune that acted as a departure song for those who lost their lives on the battle.
"Sleep well, O Brave Hero. The next time you open your eyes, no more suffering will come for you. I swear it as the True Goddess!"
And so, that was the end of the hero that saved a hundred worlds.
'... Where...?'
She woke up, and saw the white ceiling. The comfort of the reclining bed and it's soft blanket, and the white sheets that covered her body made her feel warmth. The electrical pulse rhythmically resounded with a calm slowness as she sat up and glanced around.
"... I'm in the hospital...?"
She looked at herself and saw that she was wearing a white plain gown. It felt very loose to her body, and made her shiver for a moment as the white sheets slip down to her lap when she sat up.
'... Right...' She recalled about the event that happened before she lost consciousness. 'If I am here and alive, then that meant the city was saved, right?'
She let out a sigh of relief at that. With that relief, her body that she doesn't know was tensed relaxed and then she laid on the bed comfortably. She looked at the ceilings for a moment, before she recalled about something.
"Oh right, where is my phone!?" She quickly sat up once more and looked around. After she noticed that her phone was gone, she recalled about a neat function on the hospital and looked around the bed for a moment.
When she found the small device on the table just besides her bed, she took it and pushed the only button in there. It beeped for a moment, before after awhile a nurse entered.
"Oh, you are awake. What can I--"
"Phone!"
"... Pardon?" The nurse stopped at her tracks, and they tilted their head.
"Where is my phone!?" Aizu panicked as she asked.
The nurse blinked her eyes for a moment, before she smiled awkwardly. "If you are looking for your phone, it was currently stored safely on the nurse's desk. Would you like to get it now?" Aizu quickly nodded. "Then, before that I have to check you up first. Don't worry, this won't take long..."
"Eh..." Aizu whined.
Aizu heard that she got a premium treatment. She doesn't know how did that happen as she wasn't even that rich. She doesn't feel the ache on her body, or the wounds she acquired when she saved those people from being almost killed by the Iron Ant Legions.
She just got her phone back, and they said that she could leave after they were done with the documents. So she was waiting on her her, sitting on it's side as she tried to call her brother.
"Ugh... this is the third time. Just when is my brother going to take the call?"
She wanted to notify his brother about what happened. Though the call wasn't coming through. After the third time it failed, she finally decided to leave a text for his brother before she let out a sigh.
Someone entered the room once more, and she looked up, only to gawked in surprised when she saw the familiar appearance of the only A Rank on St. Angela Academy. Along with Selena was another blonde haired woman whom she recalled she had saved at that time.
"I heard you woke up, so I came here to see you." Selena crossed her arms just below her chest, before she gasped as a smack came behind her. "Why, Mom!?" She turned to the blonde haired woman besides her, a bit teary.
"Stop acting haughty in front of her. Your being rude!" The blonde haired woman, now identified as Selena's mother, then lowered her head at Aizu. "I apologize for my daughter. She didn't meant to be rude like that..."
"... Uh... okay...?" Aizu doesn't know how to respond to this. She was surprised, and at the same time confused by this.
"I'm not being rude!" Selena huffed in dissatisfaction before she glanced at Aizu. She stared at her for a moment, until they heard the sound of her mother letting out a grunt, which made the girl sigh and then resumed with a bow of her head. "Thank you..."
Aizu froze for a moment, confused. Though it took her a few seconds before she managed to processed why was this happening.
"That's right. We are grateful that you saved me from that monster. I'll be sure to remember this... uh..."
"Koizumi Aizu. Uh... I think it's Aizu Koizumi if we are going for the standard naming order..."
"Right, Miss Aizu. I'm Nessa Zephes, and this is my daughter..."
"Selena Zephes. I'm sure you know me, right?" Selena interjected with a huffed.
"Right... who wouldn't know? You are the rising star of our school!"
"Of course! It's impossible that you won't know me, being a student of our school... ow!" Her mother pinched her on the sides, which causes her to wince. With a sharp glance from her mother, Selena sighed. "... Right. I'm not here to gloat about myself. I am not someone who won't repay a favor. I'm here to tell you that if you need anything from me, then I will do it so long as it is possible. This is a favor for saving my Mom from that oversized insect!" She turned her head away, her cheek reddening for a moment in embarrassment.
Aizu stared at her for a moment. She doesn't really expected for her to say that. She mostly saw Selena as a self-centered person who seeks attention.
"Uh... okay, I will take note of that..." She pulled her face away when Selena suddenly leaned closer to her. "What!?"
"Do you have Intersync? I always saw you with a phone so..."
Intersync was the most popular social media on the lower sectors. Billions of people have an account on it. It was obvious that Aizu had an account for it, as she sometimes browsed the internet for new games.
With her nod, Selena quickly perked up.
"Then add me!"
"B-but why...?" Aizu felt a bit troubled.
"Because on this day, you are my friend!"
"... When did that happen...?"
"Just now, and you can't refuse!" She could see Selena's mother shaking her head with a sigh.
In the end, she added her on her Intersync. She wondered why Selena looked bright. She didn't thought she was anything special.
After that Selena stayed for a moment, accompanying her as she waited for her to be released. The blonde haired girl was generous enough to explain what happened after she lost consciousness.
She was surprised to hear that Selena was focal to the subjugation of the Dragon Centipede.
'So even someone who artificially awakened is this strong! A Ranks are really busted!'
She still recalled the destruction and collateral that was caused by that large centipede on the brief moment it breached on the Golden District. It made her shiver at that recollection, and was in awe that Selena could defeat something like that.
She heard that she made a 5,000ft Orichalcum pillar to crush that centipede, and indeed it could be seen even on this part of the city. They were currently two districts away from Golden District, and the visage of the glittering golden monolith was visible on the skies. It stood proud like a tower.
'That will definitely become a tourist attraction!' Aizu thought.
She really doesn't care though. Now that the crisis was done and everything returned to normal, she could go back to her daily life.
'I almost forgot... it seems like I was out for a day. I still feel that warm energy within my body... so I think I have to use that now...'
As she felt that she always lacked the stamina, she decided to upgrade that. She didn't want to experienced losing her breathe while she was fighting for her life. She at least wanted to have enough energy so she could run away.
Selena has left her alone after she got released from the hospital, and she was now on her way to her home through a bus. She was contemplating about the next school she should attend, as she was sure the Tinkerer's Club was destroyed due to the Dimensional Breach, when she felt the vibration of her phone and a notification above her screen.
She looked at he phone and saw that it was a text from her brother. She read that, and smiled wryly when she saw the message.
[WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU ARE AT A HOSPITAL!? ARE YOU ALRIGHT? PLEASE CALL BACK SOON!]
Just when she was done reading the text, her phone suddenly vibrated as the screen transitioned into a blurry one with the image of a telephone ringing with waves around it. She slide that animated telephone up, and when she saw that it turned green, it changed into the usual icons for calls. She picked the icon of a speaker volume before she spoke.
"AIZU, ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?" She was interrupted by her brother's loud and concerned voice behind the call.
"Yes. I'm fine." She rubbed one of her ears with her index finger as she answered. She was a bit surprised at the volume of his voice that she instinctively lowered the volume of her phone.
There was silence for a moment before she heard the sound of sighing behind the call.
"Thank god you are alright!" She also nodded at that, relieved that nothing serious happened to her. "So what happened?"
Aizu told him what happened based on her own perspective. How she bumped face to face with the giant dark centipede, how she saw office agents fighting against that centipede, how she was chased by a group of angry bipedal antlions, how she was saved by the Vermillion Knight herself, and how she fought before she lost consciousness.
She was exaggerating some of the events, like how she gallantly saved the agents being overwhelmed by the giant insects, or how she fought every insect horde by her lonesome. She only bragged to her brother whenever she got the chance as it was fun to her, and she knew her brother was just amusing her. Her brother simply hummed whenever she tried to exaggerate some parts of her story.
After she was done with her explanations, her brother became silent which made her tense. She had no reason to lie to him as he was family, but sometimes she held some thoughts whether she should withheld some information of herself as she doesn't want to be yelled at by her brother. In the end, she heard him sigh.
"... I'm sorry Aizu, I know you didn't like St. Angela, but I really have to urge you to go back there."
"... That was sudden. Why?" She was confused.
"... You didn't know... Wait, don't answer. I know why..." She heard her brother sigh once more, much to her confusion. "Look, I know you usually don't listen to class so I can understand. Let me explain to you about the facilities within the school..."
She doesn't care about that, though as her brother said it was important so she just shut up and listened to him. It was also true that she wasn't listening much on the class, and her focused was mostly at her phone.
Her brother explained some key components of the school which enlightened her about how useful the school was. Academics weren't the focus of the school, and she had noticed that because their homeroom teacher barely acknowledged the class when she was on her lecture.
Teachers encouraged the students to actually leave the classroom not just to go and fight on the battle dome, but to go to their other facilities. They have different facilities where specialized instructors were located that would help different types of students for their training. The teachers at each class were just in charge of their academic education, and if they wanted to pursue that then they could stay there. Though most students should go to the facilities around the school and train on those facilities.
Most students were restricted on their own rankings and class, though scholarship students and honor students could go to any of the facilities of the school without restriction.
She vaguely recalled having read that on the school pamphlet. She just didn't thought about it too much as she wasn't interested.
"... So why should I go back?" Aizu furrowed her brows.
"Because you need to learn self-defense. You are still in scholarship, so the facilities are still free for you to use."
"If I ever need protection, I can just focus on doubling my physical durability."
"Dimensional Breaches are no simple matter, Aizu. There are monsters out there who can ignore how tough you are and instantly kill you. It might be extremely rare for a breach to occur on that sector, but you know it will happen. You experienced it yourself!" His brother exhaled the breathe he held. "What am I saying is that you should learn how to actually fight so you can protect yourself. Society Sphere isn't that safe even if it looked peaceful. I always tell you that, right?"
"Oh shut up! You said that, but you are there also risking your life even though we can just live here in peace!" She grunted in frustration. "I was calling here hoping my dear Onii-chan will go back to my side and nurse me back to health. I'm hurt, you know!" Even when she tried to add a joke there at the end, she felt irritated at the words of her big brother.
"... Sorry, that will be impossible for a moment." She was curious about that, but that thought was pushed to the back as her brother quickly resumed speaking. "Also, it's not about me. It's about your safety here Aizu."
"I have my powers. There is no need to train myself on self-defense." Her brother was silent, and it took awhile before she finally let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine... I'll think about it..."
"Thank you." Her brother said.
After that, they talked for a moment before her brother finally dropped the call after she reassured him that she was fine.
"... Well, I said I will think about it. I didn't promise that I will go back there..." She said with a shrug.
She knew it was petty, and a pretty jerk-ish move, but she have no reason to go back to a school that promotes violence amongst it's students. Going back there was like willingly going straight to a slaughterhouse. It wasn't appealing for her planned life of a sloth.
She was a bit dissatisfied that her brother didn't go back to her side, though it's not much as he has conveyed how much he was worried for her. She still felt irritated at her brother about his lecture on her. She just doesn't like that.
With a bit of a huffed, she decided to cool her head down by playing some hack'n'slash gacha game from her phone.
After the call, Tadano sighed before he leaned back onto the comfortable bed. Surrounding him were scanners attached from smooth-looking mechanical arms. Their bluish rays illuminating his body, and soothing the pain that racked his whole body.
He handed his phone back to his colleague on his side. The woman took it and carefully put it on the table on the corner of the room.
"Are you sure you won't tell her what happened to you?" The woman, his senior at Divine Wings, asked with a curious quirk of her lips.
"There is no need for that, Mizari-senpai."
The auburn haired woman stiffened for a moment as he directed a gentle gaze at her. She quickly shook her head, before she frowned. She looked at the sorry state of the man.
There wasn't any noticeable wounds on his body, though he was incredibly pale. She knew why it was.
"... I'm really sorry for putting you in danger. Even though I'm the senior here..." She lowered her head in shame.
"Don't mind it. It's my fault I came back there to help you even though I can't do anything--"
"That's not true! Even though you are just a newbie, you are more braver than any of our veteran agents! You even saved me from that situation, so you are more qualified than any of those recruits!" She stomped her foot, a bit of heat shimmering around her figure.
He lowered his head for a moment. Just turning quiet to accept her words.
"... Don't worry. I'm a B Ranker, and I heard B Rankers can rise up to the Sector 200 if they tried their best. I will try my best..." She shook her head. "No, I swear I will help you recover!"
He winced, glancing at her with a complicated feeling. His body was healed of it's physical afflictions except one. It was his soul. His soul has been damaged when they encountered the rampant criminal group of this sector. They have been ambushed at that time, and most of the interns along with him ran away, leaving their seniors and their only mentor there.
Most of them died or were taken by these criminal group, and she would have been so if not for him who suddenly swoop in and saved her. It costs him an eighth of his soul, which was a huge amount for a single person. His vitality has been greatly diminished, and he always felt weak. Even when he could still use his powers, he wasn't in the condition to move comfortably. He was like a cripple.
Healthcare differed on each sectors. On Sector 252, natural regeneration enhancement pills and rapid regeneration machines were used to heal physical wounds, while nano-extractors were used for intimate and delicate lobotomization and other extremely hard surgeries. Even with technologies like those, soul recovery was impossible on this sector.
Soul recovery starts at Sector 215, though it wasn't that guaranteed. High quality soul recovery methods could be seen on Sector 200 and above.
"It's fine... you are already covering me up by using all these expensive machines."
"No. I have to repay this debt somehow! This treatment wasn't enough!" Mizari leaned closer with a pout.
He knew Mizari was a rich woman, and she had a fair amount of connections on this office. She was the one who requested for this treatment to prevent him from collapsing once more. The shock of his soul being damaged always inflicted extreme pain all over his body, so he needed this kind of rapid regeneration machines and soothing gases to relieve the pain.
He let out a sigh, before he recalled about his talk with his sister. He remembered a particular part of her story, and decided to quickly act on it.
"... By the way, I'm sorry but can you please hand me my phone once more. I have to call someone."
"Okay." The woman with a fairly attractive figure nodded to him before she carefully picked his phone and gave it to him.
He dialed a number quickly, wincing as he felt a bit of prickling pain at his wrists and arms whenever he moved his fingers. He finally managed to dial the number and call the person he was thinking about.
"Hello?"
Hearing the familiar voice of that woman made him smile for a moment. He doesn't noticed Mizari who suddenly raised an eyebrow when she heard the voice behind the phone. He was in speaker mode, as he didn't have the strength to put the phone on his ear.
"Hello. This is Tadano Koizumi. Do you still remember me, Secundra?"
"... Tadano, it's been so long! How are you?"
"Currently an intern on an office at the higher sectors. I'm slowly rising up to the ranks, and all that. How about you? I heard there was a breach on that city?"
"I see. So you really are going for that dream you told me huh..." He felt the amusement behind those words. "And yes, there was a breach in here. It was an A Rank breach too--"
"A Rank Breach!?"
"Yes... you didn't know?"
"... Right, I just heard it from my sister." 'Why didn't you tell me it was an A Rank Threat, Aizu!' He screamed within his mind as he answered her.
"You have a sister!?" He heard the sound of surprised on her tone.
He winced once more. "Oh right... I forgot to tell you. Yes, I have a sister..." He felt like smacking himself once more. He knew that it always slipped up on his mind to tell someone. He always has this trait since he was a child.
Without waiting for her to talked, he quickly decided to go straight to the point.
"I heard that you saved my sister from those breach. I know this is asking much, but can I ask you for a favor?"
"Wait... I saved your sister?"
"Yes. She told me you met those bipedal antlions and dealt with them..." He realized something. "... Right. She was the girl with brown hair and blue eyes, and was a bit smaller than me. Her height at least surpassed my chest height." He raised his eyebrow when the Vermillion Knight became silent for a moment, and he was almost going to ask what was wrong when she flinched and almost winced at the pain after she heard her laugh.
"Ah! So that young lady is your sister! I can see the resemblance!" She laughed, much to his surprise.
"... Well, we are siblings so it was natural for us to have resembling appearance, I think?"
"Not that. I meant that she was heroic just like you. She helped one of my men from the Iron Ant Legion's ambush!"
"Iron Ant Legion!? And wait, she helped!?"
He knew of the Iron Ant Legion. They were terrifying intelligent monsters who dug and ambushed unsuspecting people with overwhelming numbers. Many agents and even civilians fell to their hands, and were mangled beyond belief. He even fought five of those at the same time, and barely managed to snatch a victory while being riddled with wounds.
"Right, it was a full colony of them that breached the Atom District along with the Dragon Centipede, which appeared on the Golden District."
"Dragon Centipede!?" An A Rank Outsider that could destroy a sector all on it's own due to it's immunity against the mundane, and it's everlasting magical fire. The thought of that breaching on Sector 254 gave him chills. "Just how come that sector is still standing!?"
He might not have faced a Dragon Centipede yet, but he heard stories, and they were extremely terrifying.
Secundra explained to him, and he was becoming more shocked as the story goes on. His sister only told him about the breach based on her own perspective. She haven't said anything about the rankings of the monster, or the amount of destruction they made. She only said she was chased, and found a giant centipede. There were a lot of giant insect Outsiders so he couldn't possibly thought that she was talking about the Dragon Centipede.
And to hear that his sister was at the ground zero when that happened. His body turned cold, that the symptoms of his soul damage became prevalent on his mind, which caused him to winced in pain and grit his teeth.
"What's the problem?" Secundra noticed the labored breathing that suddenly occured from him. Even Mizari goes to his side in worry.
He simply shook his head, stopping his senior with a gesture of his hand, before he continued speaking.
"N-nothing..."
"... Is that so?" Secundra seemed to have noticed that he was hiding something, but if she noticed that then she decided to ignore it as she moved on to the original topic. "So, what do you want from me?"
"... Yes. About my sister, can I ask if you can spare some of your men to lookout for my sister. I really don't want her to be put in danger, and it will give me a peace of mind if I know what is happening to her."
He knew that he was asking too much. Even if he has done a lot of things with some people like her organization, he was just turned over recently by the principal of St. Angela. She doesn't know if she would accept his request.
"Sure." So he was surprised when she quickly answered. "I owe you a lot, and your sister saved my men so I owe her too a favor. Something like looking out for her can simply be done, so you don't have to worry."
Tadano was shocked, before slowly he nodded in relief.
"Thank you, that meant a lot to me!"
With that, they spent talking to each other for some time with Aizu's brother being happy that he still had good friends on that sector. He noticed Mizari pouting besides and crossing her arms with impatience, though he misunderstood it as her being bored.
So the first few sections earlier were copy pasted on the old version of this chapter, and halfway through are the things I changed.
I hope this was fine...
I'll take a rest for now as this was super long...
If you want to support me, you can go to my Kofi account here.
Thank you for reading this!~♪
I hope this was fine...
I'll take a rest for now as this was super long...
If you want to support me, you can go to my Kofi account here.
Thank you for reading this!~♪
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- Location
- parker colorado
Yeah reading this it flows better than your previous one. It feels like she is being forced to be stronger rather than seeking it out. Also her Brother is so dense!
- Location
- United States
This reads like a xianxia/xuanhuan shounen... which is something I didn't know I wanted.
Hmm, the concept of this is interesting. It would take her about 50 days to have the raw strength to lift one of the very large trillion ton pillars of gold. It would take another 50 days to be durable enough to handle that strength.
Based on that and her power spending habits, it'll be a year before she's as powerful as an A ranker from just using her power as she is now.
If ranks above A scale the same way that A does to B, it'll be another year before she's rank S. This will depend on how generically she can improve her resistance to esoteric effects. If she needs to double her resistance to mana, ki, yin, yang, etc. energies separately, then it could take multiple years.
Based on this, there are two likely possibilities:
She may not be able to alter her own power, but she could double the amount of days that pass for her compared to everyone else. That would let her use her power twice or more often from the perspective of an outside observer, without changing her power at all.
Based on that and her power spending habits, it'll be a year before she's as powerful as an A ranker from just using her power as she is now.
If ranks above A scale the same way that A does to B, it'll be another year before she's rank S. This will depend on how generically she can improve her resistance to esoteric effects. If she needs to double her resistance to mana, ki, yin, yang, etc. energies separately, then it could take multiple years.
Based on this, there are two likely possibilities:
- More effective things to double are found that can provide all or most of what she needs. The important thing is limiting what she needs to use her power on to be successful, as her power works exponentially and increasing multiple things decreases that growth exponentially. Examples of this are doubling her:
- Mana and Magic skills
- Intelligence and Luck
- Skill Growth Rate and Training Benefits
- Timeskips are likely if things stay the way they are with her spending her powers inefficiently. She probably does have the ability to double her lifespan, so the main obstacle to this is the people she cares about growing old or dying.
She may not be able to alter her own power, but she could double the amount of days that pass for her compared to everyone else. That would let her use her power twice or more often from the perspective of an outside observer, without changing her power at all.
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She has only tried doubling her daily limit in regards to her power AFAIK. While unlikely to work, she hasn't tried doubling the strength of her power, thus going from double to quadruple. Even if she can't affect her ability, she might be able to increase her compatibility with her power somehow, causing similar effects.
Doubling her own rate of time would be horrifying... In only a handful of years she'd be the same age as, if not older than, her brother, and she likely lacks the ability to return her time flow to normal. Sure, it would make it seem like she had twice as much movement, attack, and movement speeds, but it wouldn't be worth it. Unless she can double her lifespan with her power, in which case it would be fine since that would even out part of it, though needing twice as much food would be annoying.
- Location
- United States
Doubling her own rate of time would be horrifying... In only a handful of years she'd be the same age as, if not older than, her brother, and she likely lacks the ability to return her time flow to normal. Sure, it would make it seem like she had twice as much movement, attack, and movement speeds, but it wouldn't be worth it. Unless she can double her lifespan with her power, in which case it would be fine since that would even out part of it, though needing twice as much food would be annoying.
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Alternatively she may be able to double her resistance to time and/or aging then do that.
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Alternatively she may be able to double her resistance to time and/or aging then do that.