Chapter 12: the reward

****Steve P.O.V.

I returned and changed into a different set of clothes as I put these into the washing machine.

After I was done with that, I walked up to the bed and climbed on it as I was really tired because of my nightly adventure yesterday plus today's work.

Once I made myself comfortable enough, I accessed the system to see the progress of the quest I just did.

**Quest name: this Christmas, Santa comes!!!

Description: Ruby is kind and pure enough to be on Santa's list and you already know what would be the most appropriate gift for her this Christmas. Empower the spirit of Christmas by curing ruby's disease completely and prove that miracles do happen sometimes to her family.

Objective: Cure ruby's disease

Reward: receive the family heirloom of ruby's family as their gratitude towards you, receive a sword art learning scroll that is best for you from the system.

Status: Completed**

" Hey, system? How will I receive rewards? " I asked the system after confirming that the quest was completed as I thought.

**You have to obtain the reward from the mentioned person by interacting with them after completing the quest. The system could only point out the possibility of receiving the specific item as a reward. In the case of system reward, you would receive it in the accessible library in the system. You could study it from there as practice in real life. **

"How can I access the library then? " I asked the system once I digested the information.

** You just have to will for it to appear. The system can be accessed without the use of devices too.**

' Hmm, will it huh? ' I thought as I took a deep breath before thinking of it.

Suddenly, A blue screen appeared in front of me. It was pretty much empty except for a single item. When I focused on it, it got selected and it appeared on the projected screen from the watch.

I preferred the projected screen to the screen that appeared in my mind, It would take some time and practice to get used to it.

I shook my head to focus on the issue before looking at the screen. There was a book cover projected on it with the title of Basic Sovereign Sword style.

" Does this style have any rank? " I asked that system as I hesitated to click on it.

** Usually art styles do have ranks but some get lost with time while others are property of powerful clans so they are not ranked. This style is like that too.**

"So style is most compatible with me, huh?" I thought as I clicked on the screen.

Surprisingly, It was available on video mode so I could see demonstrations of how to perform it. Even though it had basics in its name, it was refined to an extreme level.

" Wait, What do mean by this style is like that? Is it a lost art style or it is owned by a clan? " I asked the system once I realized the possibility.

** That cannot be disclosed, it would be providing you information that is not known to the public.**

I sighed dissatisfied as I took a deep breath to control my frustration. It meant that there was a risk in learning this style but there was no point in the fighting system right now so that he stayed docile.

"What are chances of people finding out that I'm using a style owned by a particular clan?" I asked calmly as I tried to get as much information as possible from the system.

**Since it is a basic part of the technique, there was not much difference between it and other arts in outer appearance. It is mostly used to build a good foundation and even though there are clear techniques listed in the art, you could change them by mixing them with others once you get hang of it.**

After thinking about it, I decided to learn it because worrying about the long future would only be productive when the near future was secure.

Now I had to think of some way to receive the heirloom from James somehow before New Year's Eve.

I was hella tired so I quickly fell asleep after that.

**** Next morning

'Today I would be trying the art that I received yesterday,' I thought as I did my regular activities before going to the park.

In my opinion, The most important parts of the style were its footwork and form of movement and as I read it a little, I was proven correct.

I stated the demonstration done by the projection in my mind and tried to follow the footwork and stance. The flow of movement must be powerful yet gentle so that you won't tire yourself quickly.

The main principle of the art was to make more use of your surroundings and your opponent's energy than your own.

Receive his attack head-on instead of dodging it but do not try to block it more than necessary. Instead of that, guide your opponent by flowing your sword backward into a disadvantage position for him before using a quick strike to deal lethal damage.

Be efficient with the resources that you had and deal effective damage to the opponent when the opportunity presented itself.

There was a grace in the dummy that was demonstrating the art in my mind, even though I wanted a dominant style like mighty dragon sword art that would make the heavens bow before me but this art was not bad too in comparison to it.

So for the most part, I just tried to adjust myself with the footwork in today's training session before returning to my room and taking a bath.

Even though I just practiced footwork, I sweated more than usual. Maybe it was because I had to use my whole body to work out today but I had a feeling that if I keep doing it, my muscles would become well-defined.

After that, I made something for myself quickly and left for blueberries.

I was busy as usual after wearing the costume but now I had grown accustomed to it and I didn't feel as uncomfortable in it as I felt in the beginning. The crowd was as high as yesterday but since I rested today, it was much easier to handle.

"Hey Steve, come here for a second. " Cora asked me as she emerged from the inside as I and Ethan were talking about video games that he played this year.

I nodded at Ethan before following her inside.

"what happened?" I asked her as we walked toward the kitchen.

" One of the guest's children's birthday is today and they want you to serve the cake for them. He visited a few days ago and really liked you so his parents prepared this as a surprise for him. " She replied as we entered the kitchen and I saw that the cake was already prepared. She turned to me as she nodded before leaving for the reception.

I turned to the chief as I asked," Do you know which table the cake would be needed ?"

"Table number seven " He saved before moving on.

I nodded to no one before I picked up the cake and exited the kitchen.

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Author's note : We have finally entered the rankings with this chapter.