Diamond

Ethan lay on his bed as he stared at the ceiling. He could still remember yesterday's events. The fear he'd felt was still fresh in his mind. This sensation was something new, yet something very familiar to him. Any thought of Douglas plunged him into feelings of despair as he imagined what he could do to his family.

With the backing of Stella G-corp, Douglas was somebody who could ruin his life. Ethan wouldn't put it past him to abuse his position for the sake of enjoyment. That asshole even had the audacity to insult his mother. Yet...Ethan couldn't feel anger. All he felt was fear. Mind-numbing fear. And pain. He sighed. Some day or another, he'd have to face Douglas and defeat him. He'd have to resolve this aching feeling in his heart that made it tough to breath.

Yesterday's experience taught him something valuable. Though he had gained both his past and present life's memories, that didn't necessarily make him stronger. In fact, it made him more vulnerable. His weaknesses had affected each other, making it easier for him to get hurt. But if he managed to cover his weaknesses, his strengths might shine through.

He thought of his two lives like two diamonds covered with dirt. When they joined together, the amount of dirt had increased, but so had the size of the diamond. He needed to focus on the positives, not the negatives. He needed to cover his weaknesses and bring out his strengths.

Ethan sat upright. He took a deep breath. He decided to put all thoughts of Douglas out of his mind for now. He needed to get stronger within the next three months so that he could join KGS. Thinking about that idiot wouldn't benefit him in any way.

Ethan's current potential meant that he could advance quickly. As gatekeepers ranks approached the limits of their potential, progressing in ranks became much more difficult. Of course, this meant that someone with higher potential could progress faster than somebody with lower potential through the same ranks.

The fact that Ethan had SS rank potential meant that he could reach the seventh stage of G rank much quicker than Douglas had. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough. Douglas had reached his current rank after training for three years. Ethan was trying to do the same in three months. Even the differences in their potential wasn't enough to make up the massive difference in their ranks. Reaching the seventh stage in three months would be, well, impossible.

But that didn't mean that Ethan was going to fail. He could get into Keystone if his combat ability was good enough. KGS didn't accept students on the basis of their ranks. They only cared about how good they were at fighting and dealing with monsters. The seventh stage of G rank was the average rank of accepted applicants, but it wasn't like every single person below that rank failed. If he was skilled enough to contend with the likes of Douglas, he'd be accepted into KGS. And that was exactly what he was aiming to do.

Ethan pulled out a sheathed dagger. This was the weapon that the Mercator had offered to him in exchange for his combat knife. That knife was useless anyway. It was a steel weapon, and any attempt at infusing it with mana would break it.

Ethan snorted. He was severely lacking in good equipment. The only weapon he had was something that a deranged merchant had given to him in the name of 'justice and fairness'. For all he knew, it could be a plastic knife.

Ethan unsheathed the weapon. It was a pitch black dagger with intricate designs carved on its blade. It was long, wavy and was perfectly symmetrical. Ethan ran his fingers against its edge. It was sharp. At least the dagger wasn't a toy weapon. But the weapon itself was something unique. He had never seen any daggers like this one.

Ethan searched the internet to find some clue of the dagger's origins. A 'kris'. That was what it was called. An Indonesian dagger. Though a kris was unsymmetrical, unlike his dagger. Ethan leaned back on his chair. The dagger looked lethal, though he didn't know how it would fare against a traditional one. It looked nice, and would probably suit him for now. But there was one problem. He didn't want it.

Ethan had dreamed of wielding a sword and splitting apart monsters, just like the protagonist, Noah. Swords were the ultimate weapon. Literally every cool dude used a sword. He had read so many books about overpowered protagonists wielding swords and killing their enemies in one strike. But when he had a chance to wield a weapon, he'd have to stick to a dagger?

Ethan wanted to pull his hair. Seriously. Ever since he had gone to Knightsville, it had been one disappointment after another. First he thought that he was going to get a system. But no. That damned merchant had to trick him with his 'best user experience'. And now he couldn't even wield a sword?

"Fuuuuuck," cried Ethan. "Hey Ethan! No swearing in the house!" Ethan's father called out almost instantaneously. "Sorry dad!" Ethan shouted back. And now he couldn't even swear. He sighed. Alright. Since he didn't have anything better to use, he'd stick to this kris for now. It better have some special features, or he was gonna be seriously pissed.

Ethan took another look at the dagger. He turned it upside down, looking for some secret compartments or something. A tiny emblem was scratched on the base of the hilt. Ethan squinted his eyes...and threw the blade away. There was a goddamn pentagram on the knife.

Who didn't know what a pentagram was? Practically every gate had one inscribed near its entrance. It was a symbol that monsters loved, and its appearance always meant bad news. The pentagram was why most people referred to whatever dimension the monsters came from as hell.

Ethan approached the knife cautiously. Whatever. He wasn't going to throw away this weapon just because of some symbol. He picked up the dagger again. The perfect way to increase his proficiency in this weapon was battling in the Tower and against other people.

Ethan was confident that with his superior combat sense granted from his past life, he'd be able to hone his skills and fare decently in the exam. But he didn't need to fair decently. He needed to perform amazingly. So amazingly, that he'd be accepted into KGS, no questions asked.

Ethan needed to work hard. Really hard. REALLY hard. He would have to spend almost all of his time training himself in order to have a remote chance of passing. Plop! He fell onto his bed. He closed his eyes and relished the feeling of doing absolutely nothing. He wouldn't be this free for the next couple of months.

Ethan opened his eyes. His piercing blue eyes stared at the ceiling. His eyes were a symbol of his past life. His past mistakes. But they also carried his strengths. His experiences. His knowledge. His power. Ba-dump...ba-dump...ba-dump. He could feel his heart tingling slightly. This was it. He was going to do this. He was going to get into KGS. He took a deep breath. And he got up. Creak! He opened the door as he headed downstairs.

It seemed like the diamond was shining a little more brightly. Perhaps a bit of dirt had fallen off.