Chim-
[Please choose your destination]
"5th floor"
I chose my floor so that I get a change of clothes before leaving Ward.
My training clothes had now bloodstains on them. I couldn't leave like this.
But other than blood stains, the clothes were in perfect condition.
Unlike me, who broke his bones, they didn't have a single tear!
"I am weaker than my training clothes?"
The spar with Susan showed me my most obvious flaws.
I understood that I either have to get more skills that support my fighting style or change my fighting style itself.
Chim-
While I was pondering over the issue, the lift reached my floor.
Stepping out of it, I thought back to the increased strength of Susan back in the middle of the spar.
True to her nature of battle maniac, she started going wild even though she was supposed to hold back.
The reason I had difficulty at that time was because of differences in our talent limit.
Susan has a talent limit of 5SP/Lvl. Let's say Susan was using stats of Lvl.14.
While I only got my 5SP/Lvl from Lvl.11. And I was using stats of Lvl.14 too.
In this case, Susan, who has accumulated extra stats from Lvl.1 to Lvl.14, is stronger than me, even though both of us are limiting ourselves to Lvl.14.
CLICK-
I opened the door to my room and began changing.
Unlike last time when I wore catchy clothes when I went to Downtown. This time, I chose casual clothes to blend in with the crowds.
Though, truth be told, all of my clothes were normal. The only catchy clothes I had were something I brought myself from the market before heading to Downtown.
After changing into my clothes, I checked my spatial ring for two things.
'Okay, I still have my mask. Where is that Aether Core?'
I was searching for the Aether Core I had from the Iota-rank boar in the entrance examination.
This was because of my skill [Golden Turtle]
======
[Golden Turtle[Unique]]
-Charges left: 0/5
-For every charge, user can block one attack from someone with a lower level than himself.
======
"It's useful even before being upgraded."
The charges spoken in the skill details can be obtained from consuming an aether core of the same rank as that of the user. This was something explained in the novel.
The skill description brought a smile to my face.
There was no classification or restriction for the kind of attack to be blocked.
As long as I have the higher level, any kind of attack can be blocked.
The skill was OP!
Vupp-
I finally found the aether core.
I took a deep breath before I started to consume it.
"Here goes nothing."
I coated my teeth and mouth with ether and…
Crunch-
Directly chewed the core.
"Itzzz taz..t..lzzz"
(Speak human language.)
Glup-
I gulped the whole core in one go.
Then I opened the skill description again.
======
[Golden Turtle[Unique]]
-Charges left: 1/5
-For every charge user can block one attack from someone with a lower level than himself.
======
"It works."
Confirming that the skill gained one charge, I closed the status.
"With this, I'm half set for Gladiator Championship."
I was first going to the gang to pick up Miller. From there, we will be leaving for the Underworld to find Tristan.
Leaving my room, I entered the lift.
[Please choose your destination]
"Ground Floor"
After reaching the ground floor, I exited the dorm.
"I should take a ride to the main gate. I don't have much time."
The Gladiator Championship was going to start next week. I can't use my art's first technique because of how eye-catchy it is.
I needed to train in the second technique for it to become usable in battle by the day of the championship.
The ride I chose, the cheapest one, a flying board, displayed a message.
[Insufficient Credits]
[Balance: 1 credit]
"Eh?"
I'm dirt poor. But this was the same case for every low-ranking student.
They are given barely enough credit to sustain themselves in Ward.
'Couldn't you have cleared a few floors of the Dungeon of Trails to earn credits?'
(Leon and Lilith wouldn't let me go anywhere near the dungeon.)
(They said that I am too reckless. They'll only let me go after I heal.)
(I wonder whose fault is it?)
It's Lilith's and Leon's fault, obviously. Why was he asking such an obvious question?
I shook my head. It doesn't matter whose fault it is.
What matter now is that I need credits.
I opened my device and sent a message to Leon.
[You: Leon can you lend me a few credits?]
I was thinking of an excuse to give when his reply came.
[PushoverNo1: Okay]
Ting-
[Cadet Leon Barns has transferred 50 credits to Cadet Nathan Hunt]
[10 credits will be cut as the transfer fee]
"10 credits for transfer fee? Why just my credits suck my blood too, damned Ward."
(Why does Leon have so many credits?)
"He must have gotten quite a few credits for defeating the Royal Demon."
[You: Thanks. I'll pay you back later. freeweb novel.co m
[PushoverNo1: It's okay. You can pay back slowly. I'm not in a hurry]
[You: You sure?]
[You: Then I'll pay back after graduation ^-^]
Then was no reply for a few seconds. Then suddenly a string of notifications came all at once.s
[PushoverNo1: I only said that out of politeness!]
[PushoverNo1: Don't forget to pay me back!]
[PushoverNo1: You'll pay back, right?]
[PushoverNo1: Right?]
The last message came a second later.
[PushoverNo1: ....At least pay them back before our 3rd year.]
"tch..tch Leon, you are too big of a pushover. You can't survive with that attitude in today's world."
I clicked my tongue.
"I guess I'll do my duty as your friend and teach you a few lessons."
[You: Of course, I'll pay you back]
[You: I'll pay after graduation at the earliest]
Before my device began buzzing from the incoming onslaught of messages, I turned it off.
It only took me a dozen minutes to reach the main gate and then the station.
Boarding the train for Downtown, I decided to talk to Eth for a while.
'Eth, how much do you remember about your past?'
I could feel his hesitation as he didn't answer.
But he understood that I had already seen his past just like how he has mine.
He took a moment before answering.
(I remember everything until Grey died. From there, my memories are a little blurry till her death.)
(After that, all my memories are hazy. I can barely remember a day's worth of memories from there.)
'Do you remember how strong you were?'
(Strong? Me? I remember training day and night. But as far as I remember, my efforts never paid off. I was forever held back by my lack of talent and potential.)
"huuuu…."
I exhaled loudly.
It seems Eth still hasn't realized how Mrs. Parker died because of his blurry memories.
Nor does he remember his acquired skill.
I decided to keep both these things a secret as I have decided beforehand.
I suddenly thought of something.
'You can see my memories, right? Can't you watch your past from there?'
(No)
(Just like you, I can't watch my past from your memories.)
This was true. I never saw Eth watching my past in Eth's memories.
Eth also didn't ask what I saw there.
I had already told him about the 7 years I spent in blackout of the total 10 years in the memory world.
Since we can feel each other's emotions, Eth hasn't been asking about what exactly happened.
In a way, this was a blessing.
I can't tell him about the extra tidbits of memories I saw. But if I lie, he will know that it is a lie.
I was feeling a little sleepy when Eth asked about my plans.
(Are you going to participate in the championship?)
'Yeah'
(But why? There will be an attack during the championship and all the rewards will be stolen. There is no point in participating.)
'Only participants can get close to where rewards are stored.'
(Don't tell me…)
'Why, of course! This time we will be the ones doing the stealing.'
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