Chapter 47 Trial Gate Part 07.

Meanwhile, the outside world in one of the luxurious mansions in a certain district in Tokyo looks further inside in one of the rooms. There sat a lone woman in her thirties with a haggard and distressed expression on her face, gazing down at a rectangular machine that lay on top of the desk, the place she and her husband used for work.

"Hina, Soma, where are you?".

Hisako whispers those two names as she keeps her gaze down while waiting for the phone to light up. From her face, one could see dark circles below her eye line showing her lack of sleep. Then a sudden vibration came from the phone and with her enhanced physique, she snatched the phone in a flash and found that her husband was calling her. She swiped the phone icon on her phone and put the speaker near her ear.

"How was your investigation, Hiroshi?".

{Still nothing}.

It's been two weeks since the two of them went missing from their radar, and it greatly shakes the two parents' core.

"Hiroshi, I am afraid. What should I do?".

{Hisako,,}

Hiroshi couldn't let a single word hear a meek voice from his dear wife. The tragedy of the disappearance of her daughter and the boy named Soma greatly stirred his wife's emotions. He also feels the same inside but as the head of a household. He should prevail and do everything he could to search for the disappeared duo. Because if he is down it will bring the downfall upon his entire family he is painstakingly built and trying to protect.

At first, they just want their daughter to deliver the luxurious meat they plan to give to Soma and think to themselves Hina will just go back home after that. But, no matter how long they waited, Hina never came back. The same incident also happened to Soma. The parents tried to reach them by phone, but both of their phones were out of reach, which made them feel a sense of crisis, never they had thought would befall upon them.

".My god where have you been?".

{Hisako, Please, take some rest}.

"What are you saying! How can I get some rest while knowing that my precious daughter and our benefactor disappeared..".

Since the day that her daughter disappeared Hisako's condition has deteriorated for she never has a good amount of sleep, because of the thought of her daughter's safety. With her sturdy body as an S-Rank awakener, she could handle it just fine, but not with her mental aspect. Because, no matter how strong her physique was, her mind was merely a mother who cared for her dear child's safety.

{...}

Hiroshi couldn't retort to any of her words.

"..I am sorry Hiroshi".

{No, It's okay. I too feel the same after all}.

He is also in the same state as his wife. With not enough sleep for the past few days. He keeps moving his feet searching for the duo's existence while also getting help from his acquaintance. While Hisako was waiting in the house, in case Hina would come back.

{I will ask for another help from my acquaintance outside the perfecture}.

"..Please Hiroshi. I am sorry for not being there to help".

{Don't worry about it. We already discussed, that you are the one who should be the one who does the greeting for Hina and then scolds her later for making us worry}.

Hiroshi tried to throw some joke to lighten up the mood, but Hisako could only smile wryly and opened her mouth

"Don't forget about our young benefactors".

{Ahaha, you are right. Hisako, I will hang up the call, I'll catch you up later}

"Okay, Be careful".

The phone got cut off as Hisako began to put her phone on the table on the desk. Then, she put her hands into a praying gesture while whispering. "..Please be safe both of you".

***

[Daily quest complete]

[All stats raised +1]

The emotionless voice that came from the notification of the success of his daily quest greeted his tense morning. Soma is making some small adjustments with his pounding heart albeit slightly regained his calm.

"Fuuuh, I can do this".

Hina, on the other hand, feels a bit flustered since she woke up. Soma also noticed a black circle below her eyes. That showed her lack of sleep. Soma with a bit of guilt began to close the distance between them and grab her shoulder.

"Hina".

"..Woah, you surprised me?!".

The unfocused state she is currently in and the exaggeration of her response indicate that she is not in her normal self. Soma began to feel a bit of regret for the thing he said yesterday.

"..How was your sleep last night?".

"..Um, It's good. I feel refreshed".

Soma shook Hina's body as she jerked her body because of the intense grip on her shoulder that forced her gaze to look directly into his probing eyes. Hina cast her gaze down and soon apologized.

"No, the Truth is I had trouble sleeping last night".

"Is it because I mentioned fighting the Valiant wolf?".

Hina hesitated at first then nodded her head slowly. Soma had a huge sigh as he realized the small mistake he made.

"B-But, I know that if we don't do this we won't have any progress in our exploration. so I will,, I must resolve myself to fight the monster, for me to leave this place".

Sensing something was not right Hina began to provide her answer. However, it still didn't convince Soma. But, the moment when he saw her unwavering gaze with a little bit of fear mixing in stare through at him, he sighed.

"Okay, if you feel you can't do it. Take a step back and help me from behind with your magic understood?".

"Okay, I will do that".

Soma releases the grip on her shoulder. This behavior from Hina, who didn't have a problem with skinship, clearly shows a bit of a change of heart. After spending a long time together with Soma in the Trial Gate. Hina bit by bit began to reevaluate the boy who was always fighting and stayed by her side. However, her heart still had a little doubt about him and still didn't open it fully for him to enter. She only shows a small glimpse of it and hopes that she can be more open about herself to the boy before her.

Hina closes her eyes while taking a deep breath, trying to ease her nerves. She will soon be facing her great battle for the first time. She took something from her storage rings, a yellow potion that would recover some of her stamina. She opened the lid before downing the contents in one go.

[Stamina recovered 70%]

"Let's do it".

Soma on the other hand took the scroll they found in the Oasis treasure box. He turned to Hina and then opened his mouth.

"Hina, could you look into the scroll description?".

From the moment he stored the scroll inside the storage. They agreed to appraise the item later when the moment was right, and that moment was today.

They still didn't know what kind of scroll skill they had. But in a few hours, they will face their first test facing a Rank-B monster Valiant Wolf. Soma looks at the scroll in hand in the hope the scroll will have a battle-related skill for him or Hina to learn.

"Ah, Sure".

Hina took the appraisal glasses from her storage and put them on. She receives the scroll from Soma's hand before opening it. The truth is she already forgot about the existence of this scroll, for she already received an amazing item such as the katana on her waist and the glasses on her face. The scroll's existence faded from her memories.

[Oni strengthening technique: Give the user a 50% boost of physical strength. Requirements: 50 MP/Second.

- Additional Skill: Oni Wrath will give the user a 100% boost of physical strength with the penalty of losing their rational mind every second they hold. Requirements: 100 MP/Second.

- After using the skill of Oni Wrath, the user will be paralyzed for an hour]

"So how was it?".

Soma with anticipation asked Hina, who was reading the description of the scroll. He saw she bit her lips as she hesitated to convey the details of the scroll to him. But, seeing the fire in Soma's eyes Hina could only swallow her bitterness in her mouth and then opened her lips.

"..It was a strengthening technique that will boost the user's physical stats by 50%".

"What?! Fifty?!".

Hearing the words that came from Hina's mouth made Soma's body stiffen in wide eyes because of the sheer crazy news it provided. But, his mind began to calm down because he remembered that Hina had a difficult face, not too long ago after reading the scroll.

"Then, what else?".

"..It has the additional skill name Oni Wrath that will give the user a 100% boost in a physical attack. But, it will also render your consciousness into a berserk state".

Soma now understands why Hina had a difficult face earlier. A hundred percent boost gives a huge advantage in battle, but in every nice offer, there will be a huge price to pay.

"Is that all?".

"It will also make you paralyzed for an hour after using the skill Oni Wrath".

"I see".

He extended his hands before taking the scroll in Hina's hands who strangely gripped it strongly as if she didn't want him to learn it.

"It's okay Hina. Trust me".

Hearing his calm voice made her falter and Soma managed to take the scroll back in his hands. His mind wandered back to the beginning. He is prepared to fight the strong enemy monster inside the trial, and for that, he already prepares everything he needs to survive in the gate. Also, he believes that the Valliant Wolf is still not the actual boss in this maze floor, there will be a stronger opponent he must face to complete the ritual in this place.

Soma without any hesitation gripped the scroll in his hands tight before ripping it apart into two.

[Skill: Oni Strengthening technique is learned]

An emotionless voice began to echo inside his head, as he closed his eyes for the incoming information that invaded his brain of how to use the skill proficiently.

Hina, who saw the scattering light from the torn scroll, bit her lips before turning her attention to the boy in front of her who was in the process of learning the dangerous skill.

Despite the two weeks she spent with the boy before her. She found that Soma was a rather honest and hard-working boy who gave off positive vibes near her. Because of that, she could open up her heart a little despite still having a slight doubt for him. Unconsciously she gripped her left chest as her heart began to stir up with an unknown emotion that invaded her mind.

"Let's go, Hina".

Hina's body jerked as she heard the resolute voice of the boy in front of her. She also began to resolve herself and nodded to answer his invitation.

"Let's fight the Valiant Wolf".