In an unassuming building in the heart of the city.
Step, step.
Mavis’ hair swayed with every step she took, sometimes showing glimps of her neck. Her face looked troubled, so much so that she didn’t react to the several people who bowed at the sight of her.
“M…”
“Mav…”
“Mavis?”
After being called several times, her eyes regained focus and she looked at a skinny, middle aged man who had just called her.
He was idly sitting on a chair behind a counter, acting as one of the few clerks in the building. There wasn’t much to do here, since the number of people with access to it didn’t even reach the triple digits. It was a very relaxing yet boring job to have.
Mavis greeted him and exchanged a few pleasantries before she began, “Is there a register that has the names and descriptions of people strong enough to kill Grade 1 beasts?”
The skinny looking man nodded and said, “Oh? On the hunt for someone? We do have one, but it’s very small. I’ll send it to you.”
“Just having a look,” she replied curtly. Her device flashed a few seconds later, and she opened the file.
Her eyes quickly scanned through the list, there wasn’t much to read to begin with but she ultimately shook her head.
“Not there?” he asked.
Mavis sighed. “No. None of these descriptions match the person I want to find.”
“If you give me the description, I can issue a wanted notice. But if they’re able to kill Grade 1 beasts, then it might be a bit hard to find them,” he said calmly.
None of those who could kill Grade 1 beasts in current times were easy to track if they didn’t want to be found, and since the person Mavis was looking for wasn’t in the register, they most likely didn’t want to be.
She didn’t hesitate and immediately began describing Victor in as much detail as she could, hoping they could narrow down the search.
She and the clerk went through a long back and forth of questions and answers that lasted more than half an hour, drafting a near perfect description.
Once they were done, the clerk asked her to review it one last time before he began making several calls.
When he put down the device, he reported, “Alright, I called the armies stationed in the three big cities to keep an eye out for that person. It might take anywhere between a day or a month, depending on when the target enters one of the cities, but I’m sure we’ll be able to find him.”
Mavis thanked him and left. She needed to report to her superior at the Federation HQ.
//////
“That’s all?” Troy asked Mavis. His tone sounded casual, but inwardly he was frowning.
He had just listened to Mavis recount what had happened during her mission, and the more he listened, the worse he felt.
Where did all these strong people hide until now? Killing a Grade 1 beast without breaking a sweat…that alone is enough to rank you in the top ten of the Federation, yet I’ve never heard of anyone matching that description. It seems the closer we get to joining the Universe rankings, the more variables appear. I can already imagine that Jonathan won’t be pleased.
Mavis stood quietly a few meters away. She could clearly feel her leader’s mood souring the moment she finished her report.
“If you get any more information about this person, report to me immediately. For now, go back to training. It seems your strength isn’t up to par anymore,” Troy ordered.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
She wanted to argue that it wasn’t her strength that was the issue, but rather that the man she’d met was simply too strong. But she knew better than to talk back to her leader.
Even though she held the number 2 rank, higher than both Hayden and Lavinia who were ranked 5 and 4 respectively, her opinion still didn’t carry much weight in front of him.
So she simply nodded and took her leave.
It seemed that meeting Victor had instantly extinguished the bit of freedom she’d just earned after her most recent training.
A hint of resentment sprouted in her mind.
If only I hadn’t met him… I wouldn’t have to isolate myself for more training so soon.
/////
It had been more than a day since Nova started reading the movement technique book, and not long after, he began practicing it.
Now he was standing in one of the many backyards belonging to the small village formed by Erevan’s group.
Sweat dripped down his body, and his labored breathing filled the otherwise quiet area.
A notification had popped into his mind just a few seconds ago.
[Skill: Chasing Shadow has been learned]
‘Chasing Shadow… the name does fit the skill,’ Nova thought, still half surprised to have actually received it.
When he went through the body tempering and mental defense books, he hadn’t received any notification despite having clearly become stronger.
That made him think that, since the books weren’t named, they weren’t suitable for the system to generate corresponding skills from. But now, it seemed he had clearly been wrong.
‘Body and mind…when I enhance either one, it seems I’m not able to receive any skills or Stats. Why is that? What’s the difference between gaining Stats through skills and gaining them through tempering my body?’
He asked himself, but he had no answer.
He’d developed a habit of constantly questioning himself, hoping that one day, in a moment of inspiration, he would finally understand but that day had yet to come.
It didn’t bother him though.
He knew that as long as he kept advancing, the day when he could answer all his questions would eventually arrive. It just felt so far out of reach at the moment.
‘One step at a time,’ Nova reminded himself.
His breathing had just begun to steady when he mentally called out his Status.
[Status]
Rank: 0
Name: Nova Grey
Species: Human
Affiliation: None
Level: 88 (500 / 5,000)
Mana:
- Mana Core (Medium): 299,876,810 / 10,000,000,000
- Nodes: ??? Spinal Node, ??? Perception Node, ??? Pulse Node, ??? Voice Node, ??? Vital Organs Node, ??? Power Node, ??? Stance Node, ??? Manipulation Node
Concepts: Death (0.002%)
Class: None
Titles:
Goblin Exterminator, King Slayer, Survivor, Spear Advanced, Troll Exterminator,
Orc Exterminator, Rune Novice, Mana Intermediate, Lord (Giants), Hunter, ???, Sword Novice, Throne Breaker, Novice Crafter
Stat Points: 2,130
Attributes:
- Strength: 2247 (+105,913)
- Vigor: 2220 (+104,868)
- Dexterity: 2270 (+130,473)
- Speed: 2230 (+127,214)
- Intelligence: 2186 (+25,011)
- Wisdom: 2230 (+25,511)
- Will: 20
- Luck: 10 (+10)
Skills
Active:
- Spear Thrust (27) — 63,989,279,560 / 67,108,864,000
- Spear Jab (27) — 2,546,651,125 / 67,108,864,000
- Spear Sweep (27) — 1,806,120,569 / 67,108,864,000
- Spear Lunge (27) — 47,199,108,631 / 67,108,864,000
- Spear Overhead Strike (26) — 5,780,376,366 / 33,554,432,000
- Sword Slash (15) — 1 / 16,384,000
- Sword Stab (15) — 3 / 16,384,000
- Sword Chop (15) — 1 / 16,384,000
- Sword Sweep (15) — 0 / 16,384,000
- Sword Parry (14) — 2,030,197 / 8,192,000
- Sword Block (14) — 1,997,701 / 8,192,000
- Crafting (0) — 0 / 10
- Chasing Shadow — 0 / 4
Passive:
- Regeneration (23) — 1,022,359 / 4,194,304,000
- Keen Reflexes (14) — 6,202,997 / 8,192,000
- Momentum Streak (18) — 107,459,699 / 131,072,000
- One with the World (Spear) — MAX
- One with the World (Footwork) — MAX
- Aura — Fourth Stage
Nova quickly went through it and muttered, “Chasing Shadow is really not simple. The 0/4 is most likely because the skill levels up through comprehension, the same way Cassidy talked about weapon skills and Force. That makes it both stronger and harder to train compared to the others. I’m not even close to reaching the first level.”
By the end, his tone had turned bitter. But after thinking about it for a moment, he smiled.
“The harder it is to train, the stronger it’ll make me,” he chuckled.
“Nova!”
Right then, he heard Jack calling his name.
Nova turned and saw his friend standing at the backyard entrance. He eyed him for a moment and said in a mockingly dramatic tone, “You’re finally willing to show up? Thought you were hiding from me.”
Jack let out an awkward chuckle. He hadn’t seen Nova since the party, and although it wasn’t exactly because he was avoiding him, he couldn’t help but feel guilty toward his friend.
Though that feeling disappeared as soon as he thought about what might have happened without him.
“Me hiding from you? I just thought you were too busy training and didn’t want to bother you,” Jack said cheerfully. Then his tone grew slightly more serious. “Since you’re standing here, does that mean you’ve finished all three books?”
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