27 Recruiting me...Part 2 Chapter 26
As the day came when I finally returned from my conquest, walking slowly back from that drenching night…eager to finally rest in a soft comfy bed. I didn't expect anything else to happen that night, yet I've come to realize the futility of expectations. Sometimes expectations were pushed aside and you were met with nothing but a welcome of the unexpected. A welcome from someone you were suppose to know yet I was completely clueless to who this was.
There I was, walking back to my room in the middle of the night…drenched from the heinous rain and cold from the strong unbearable winds. She stood in front of my apartment, staring at the number of my room. Her expression was sad but at the same time complex. She stood there like it was no one's business, but as I came closer to each step, I could notice her head slowly turning my way…as if she was familiar to the very sound of my steps.
And as she finally came face to face with me, she rushed straight forward. She was an old Lady I have never met before, yet there she was coming my way.
Stunned by her direct action, I expected an embraced from this stranger.
Yet at the speed she took with her, a sudden thunder claps and my face was suddenly tilted to the floor's direction.
*Whack!* as the sound of the snapping paper fan echoed at the same time the thunder appeared.
"...huh?" I was bewildered by this event. I was hit by a complete stranger.
"YOU DAMN IDIOT!!" Shouted this old lady while holding the very paper fan she used on me noggin.
"Eh?"
"Do you have any idea how worried I was!? Huh!? If you were even planning of running away, at least see it through!" she was mad.
She yelled at me nonstop for minutes on end…her voice echoed through that night and all I did in return was face the floor while listen on to her ramblings.
"You've left the your apartment for almost a month! Can you tell me why!?" She then started asking for my whereabouts.
"You still haven't paid for you bill too! Were you planning of leaving without paying me the Bills! Huh!?" She then proceeded to remind me of my problems here in this world…my bills…
As she spoke her complaints at me, I came to know a few things about her…She was landlord, her name was Marry-ann Breches, the people here in the complex calls her Old lady breches, and she was an important figure to this boy. She was his guardian.
As she finally said her fill…it was my turn to speak.
"I'm sorry granny, I just left because of something important." In return of all her ramblings, I lied to this person.
"...was it because of the Academy?" Her tone was a bit raspy and naggish but I could tell that she was somewhat a part of this boy's life.
"...yeah, I have a chance in going to it." I said. I remembered back then when I received a letter from the academy saying that I had to retake the physical exams, I was reminded of this opportunity when the old lady asked about the academy.
"I see…It's the middle of the night, go back inside and rest. Its already past our curfew." She didn't pushed on with the questions about the academy, so talking about it must have been a delicate topic.
"Okay granny, good night." I said to her as she started walking back to her room.
"...Hmm." she only hummed back .
"..." I slowly opened my apartment with the key I left behind under a plant that was beside the door.
I didn't think about it much after she left because I was too tired to think things through at that moment.
As I entered, I noticed a bunch of letters that were from different subjects. There was from this same person named Clinton, the bills for this month and a few ads that were pointed to massage chairs.
"Hmm." I only picked out the important ones and thrown everything else in the trash bin.
"It's from Clinton…It's the same old writing, She's just writing about me about my condition and such…should I write back?" I was contemplating whether or not I should write back since from the looks of it, she seemed worried.
"I'll think about it after everything is settled…I need to go to a Internet cafe tomorrow so I can research about the hunter's exam, take on the hunter's exam and pass it…its gonna be a long day tomorrow."
Two days passed later…
I completed everything that needed to be done…I passed the exam, I meet this noble, Ranzy and I paid off my bills.
Everything was settled and now, early in the morning I was packed for everything I needed to go properly hunt this time in a gate to earn some cash. I needed the money so I can go and buy a few things in a Blacksmith's shop.
And a few day's from now, I'll visit a certain karaoke bar…
"Okay, clothes check, chain mail check, water check, bag check, trusty spear check, Hunter's Card check…Okay. I doubt I'll need healing potions inside a F-rank gate so I guess I'm ready." As I zipped my backpack closed, I was on my way back to hunt inside the gate again.
As I opened the door and locked it out, I placed the key back under the plant and was on my way to the Hunter's association.
But just as I was about to leave, I was greeted early in the morning by a grumpy old lady.
"Oy, are you planning to go back to a gate?" she said with that raspy voice of her's.
"Yeah, I need to train for the upcoming test on the Academy, and while I'm at it I'll earn my allowance too."
"I see. Before you go, here." she gave me something. It was a small Tupperware with a bunch of forks and spoon placed on top, wrapped in a handkerchief.
"I'm pretty sure you'll come home late again. So here, Its your lunch." She said it with her mean expression.
".…" I was just speechless. I didn't exactly know how to react so I slowly reach for it with both of my hands and as I did, I could feel the warm temperature that was expelling around the Tupperware.
"...Be careful inside those gates." she said with her expression not changing one bit but I could feel the warmness that was wrap around this container.
She showed concern even with this harsh tone of hers, so I was thankful.
"Thank you granny." As I thanked her, I was finally on my way to the association.
I grabbed a taxi that was nearby and told my destination.
A few minutes later.
I was in front of the association. I didn't waste time and immediately went to the gate, the same gate that I went in yesterday. It was the same process, I just went in front of the guard and showed him my card.
"Okay, your good to go." said the guard.
"Thanks." I said as he granted me access to the gate.
As the boy passes through the gate, a certain old man came walking inside the building with a cane on his hand. He wore a brown topcoat and a fedora on his head, insinuating that he didn't want to be noticed. As he walked from desk to desk, his eye's would peek at every adventurer that was on sight.
"He's not here…hmm, maybe he went inside a gate today." The old man then approached the one gate that was F ranked. In front of that gate was a simple guard who was standing within the front.
"Excuse me guard, Have you seen this boy?" said the old man as he showed the picture of the most recent person who came in the gate.
"Huh? Why do you ask?" asked the guard as he was suspicious of the old man.
"It's nothing important. I just have some personal inquiries with this boy." said the old man as he slowly opens the left inside of his topcoat. In it was an Emblem of a certain nobility. It was enough to make the guard notice this emblem
"..!" the guard was surprised to see the emblem that was placed in that man's coat. Seeing that emblem meant that this was a serious matter towards nobles and offending that person was a serious offence, so the guard complied to the old man's question.
"I-I've seen the boy. You just missed him, he just went in the gate just now." said the guard while his tone was expressing nervousness.
"Hmm, I see. Is it possible to enter that gate?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't comply to that request. The association's rule's and all. Only person's with adequate ranking's can enter.' explained the man to the old man.
"I see. How long do you think he'll stay in there then?" asked the old man.
"Hmm, he wore a backpack with him so I'm guessing almost the whole day and the bag didn't seem to carry a tent so probably around afternoon."
"hmm, I see. I'll be back then. Here's a number, contact this when you see the boy passing through after his hunt." said the old man as he gave the guard a piece of a folded paper.
"y-yes…I'll tell you when he does so." the guard said as he reached for the paper and puts it in his pocket.
"Remember, if you fail to contact me, there will be dire consequences." Threatened the old man.
"Y-yes!"
As the man affirmed this, the old man finally left the building and the guard could finally breath easily then.
"Haaa….these nobles are really…no, its bad karma to talk back to someone old, Let's just do this." The went back to his nonchalant attitude and stood by the gate. The request he took on was just a simple look out, so he didn't need to worry about anything.
***INSIDE THE GATE POV:
A certain boy was on the lookout for monsters to hunt. It hasn't even been an hour yet but he was able to gather five mana cores from goblins. He was nonchalantly strolling down the forest, treating it as if it was a high school field trip.
"Hmm, The items I'm looking for should cost a lot so the question lies on how much I should hunt a day. It should be an amount that wouldn't bring any suspicions from guilds and such." said the boy to himself while looking around the forest.
"Hmm, No monsters in the area…even at a hundred meter diameter. "
"Haa…I should look for a different hunting spot then. Maybe a camp is nearby or a feeding ground for wolves. Either, hunting aimlessly won't help me speed this up. I better go to a higher landscape and scope the area."
Hunting was an issue in F-rank gates. Most of the areas a hunter would go to was already cleaned out by previous hunters and the fact that its been years since this gate opened and the goblins met these hunters, they were able to adapt to the hunters only in a few years time. They learned to hide, lay traps and populate secretly to avoid the hunters and avoid extinction. The anatomy of a goblins body was different to say the least. Their ability to procreate was superior than that of most monsters in this gate, for up to only two months can a goblin easily bring life to this world.
"Ah, that tree should be tall enough." So I climb the tree to find a better hunting spot. As I looked around the area, I tried looking for specific places such as caves and primitive looking houses in trees. As I scanned each noticeable spots around me, I was able to locate a small clear area, it looked like it was an abandoned campsite from previous hunters..
".…Maybe there's something over there." I jumped down from the tree and landed safely on my two feet.
As I made my way down, I thought of what I should do while looking around for goblins and such. Maybe I could reminisce on the novel, think of what my future plans should be or think of how I could start looking for my people…I still had the Ruler's Duty. Or maybe the most prominent choice, I should train, be stronger so that I can achieve my goals in the future.
After contemplating for a while on what I should do, it all led to one similar thing.
"I should train then…" I said before finally arriving at the abandoned campsite. There were signs of campfires, abandoned tents and even a rusty short sword that was laying on the floor covered in dirt.
"hmm, this place should do fine."
"Character Profile." I wanted to see the progress of my strengths.
[CHARACTER PROFILE]
:Stats:
Name: Hamil Crux
Occupation: Trained Warrior
Age:17
God's followed: The Rulers (4/4)
Mana: 10
Strength: 90
Luck: 0.8
Agility: 90
Stamina: 85
Intelligence: 50
+++++++++++++++
Bow Proficiency: 50%
Spear Proficiency: 55%
Sword Proficiency: 55%
Shield Proficiency: 0%
+++++++++++++++
SKILL-ARTS:
*Sword Ability - Swordsman's Apparel (F)
==Swordsmanship Owned: 1/100
-Basic Swordsmanship - 55% Complete
*My Bow Ability - Light Reflection (F)
*Spear Ability - Impossible Accuracy (C)
*Shield Ability - Shield's Copy
+++++++++++
"...I haven't grown as much." I said as I looked over my progress.
"Hmm…Shield proficiency is zero, the bow also hasn't improve much, as well as the spear and the sword…I'm stuck. My weapon skills however…maybe they can improve. First off is Swordsman's apparel." The monsters in this gate were to weak, nothing worthy enough to actually give a certain challenge, a new experience in life. So the only thing I could ever improve on was the skill which I have never once tested before and the gate was the perfect location to do so…it was isolated and pack with practice dummies(Monsters).
"Okay, first off is Swordsman's Apparel." Just as I thought of it, a notification board suddenly pops in front of me.
"!!" it was similar to that of calling for my character profile.
[Swordsman's Apparel]
==Swordsmanship Owned: 1/100
-Basic Swordsmanship - 55% Complete [SELECTED]
Objective of Mastery:
-Swing a sword perfectly [8,256/10,000]
-Completely coat your sword in your mana at a full state [15/100]
-Master your Intuition [100/100] -[completed]
"Hmm, Okay…this is easier than I thought."
This was now my step into becoming stronger here in this world.
"Okay, so the fact that there is progress on the basic swordsmanship apparel means that I actually did some advancements during my time at the ruler's domain. I did 8,256 perfect swings with a sword…I think this was the time when I was doing the Resolute Ruler's Challenge. But I can clearly remember that I did more than 10,000 swings though, its odd but I should test it out first what compliments a perfect swing…"
So I called out my only sword.
"Rondemince"As I called out to my weapon, the mark on my back reacted and showed a bluish light. Not long after, Rondemince my blue edged sword was manifesting in front of my.
"Okay." I slowly reach out to grab the handle and as I made a full grip, the sword reacted proudly to my soul.
"..." I could tell I was stronger with this sword on my hand.
'Okay, First swing.' I thought as I positioned myself to do a proper swing.
"Hm!" I swung the sword down in front of a tree. As I made a full downward swing, the impact of the force from my swing erupted towards the tree. As the force of the winds collided with the tree, it imploded right before me.
*Boom!*
The noise it made sounded like a bomb blowing off and the dust scatters everywhere as a result form my simple full swing.
After the dust cleared and everything was in view…the result of my swing was something I sorta expected to happen.
".….Yeah…this isn't gonna work out." The tree was no longer there, what remained before me was a crater of around 5 meters in length and a meter in depth.
"...I'm sorry Rondemince but I should put you back and pick a more slightly less destructive weapon…" I said as I look at Rondemince in the center blade.
".…" So I put away Rondemince back in my mark and tried picking a more suitable weapon.
"I think a rusty sword was around here, that should do fine for now." I said as I remembered the rusty sword that was abandoned in this campsite.
I slowly walk to its direction and I pick it up from the ground. I could tell that it was used in battle because of the dents at its blade. It was a simple looking sword and it was perfect for me to train with.
"Okay, lets try this again."
I positioned myself again to do a full swing.
As I made my stance, I swung it as hard as I could.
"Hm!" I swung it at the direction of a boulder that was in front of me. The force of the swing was strong, and by the end of my swing, the winds of the force was pushed to the boulder but the result was unexpected.
*Swoosh~~Thud!* an impact was heard and the conclusion was clear. No damage was made and all the force of my created was a slash mark unto the boulder.
"Hmm, I guess that's enough. Lets see if it's actually made any difference to my skill."
So I looked back to the board and saw the results.
[Swordsman's Apparel]
==Swordsmanship Owned: 1/100
-Basic Swordsmanship - 55% Complete [SELECTED]
Objective of Mastery:
-Swing a sword perfectly [8,258/10,000]
-Completely coat your sword in your mana at a full state [15/100]
-Master your Intuition [100/100] -[completed]
"hmm, nice."
Two swings were added to the perfect swing objective and I was satisfied with this result.
Now all I need to do now was complete 2,742 swings in just this day and I will be content.
"Hmm, maybe I should add coating the sword with me mana to speed up the progress of my training." So I tried this idea.
All it resulted in the end was an increase in damage with destroyed the boulder.
"...hmm. well, I guess it's manageable."
I spent the whole day just training my skills, honing it until it reached a hundred percent. By the time I did finish, I could see the sun already setting in the distance.
"Hmm, I guess I'll go home then." I said while packing my things back in place.
As I was training, I ate the lunch that was prepared by granny, drank a few glasses of water and used my senses to locate any monster's that were nearby. I only located around 15 goblins that hiding in the trees and bushes and hunted them down. It was enough for one day and I think this was the normal amount a F rank hunter could manage in one day, so it was pleasing day.
As I made my way back home, the sun has already settled and the moment I passed through the gate I was approached by a mysterious looking, fedora wearing geezer.
".…"
".…"
"...Sign."
