A Visit To The Library

Taking Six by surprise, Ace yanks her hand forcefully, pulling her closer to himself enough for her to feel his hoarse breath on her face. His eyes darkened, a little glimmer of hope shimmering through. 

"Who have you seen wearing this neck-piece?"

A little taken aback by his brute force that hurled up around her wrist, Six managed to fix her words out in a jumble. 

"I mean… the neck-piece —"

"Put yourself together and talk to me straight!" He yelled.

"It was ten years ago, during my awakening ceremony." Six snapped. "I had seen a girl with the same neck-piece as yours and I thought she was cute and wanted to be friends with her, but she was so invested with someone else's awakening that she took no notice of me.

Hearing Six admit the truth, he let out a sharp sigh of disappointment, his hand slowly letting her wrists off his hook. He got up to his feet in an attempt to continue the system's quest and as well let the wind sweep his desperation away.

"Was that you?" Six queried gently, her knees still buried in the ground while the night's wind softly blew her hair into her face.

"Seems like." He replied, his tone softening, so as his breathing before dashing off— away from six.

***

[Ding!]

[Daily mission(s): Improve and perfect your body condition]

[Press-up, 100 times:Completed(100/100)]

[Sit-ups, 100 times: Completed (100/100)]

[Squat, 100 times: Completed(100/100)]

[Running; 10km: Completed]

[Congratulations on completion of the system first quest]

[Rewards will be granted shortly]

[...]

[1000 system token has been granted]

[Hidden rewards are being issued]

As he watched the system interface in front of him, a small smile of achievement washed over his face and this lasted for a few seconds until a glimmering orb suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Eh?" He pondered. "Is this one of the hidden rewards?"

Instinctively, he touched the orb and it crawled into his palm, vanishing through the surface in an instant.

[Ding!]

[Host's mana core has been refilled]

[Host has received an ability (talent) card card]

[Host has received a skill card]

[Stats have been updated]

—HOST STATUS WINDOW—

Host: Ace Kiryū

Age: 17

Race: ░░░░░░

Class: Unidentified

Level: 1

STATS

-Strength: 49

-Agility: 20

-Intelligence: 68

-Endurance: 32

-Mana: 100/100

•-TALENT/ABILITY•-

-Chicanery (lvl 2)

Description: Ability to create illusions to deceive the senses. 

Chicanery, as a talent, refers to the use of trickery or deception to achieve a particular goal, often in a clever or cunning manner. This talent is quite potent, allowing the character to manipulate situations and people to their advantage without resorting to brute force.

-Foresight (lvl 2)

Description: The ability to see an opponent's move before it happens. This talent allows an individual to anticipate an opponent's actions, providing a significant strategic advantage in combat. 

With precognition, the host can react more quickly, dodge attacks, and counter effectively, making it difficult for opponents to land hits. This ability can also allow the user to plan their own moves more strategically, creating openings in the opponent's defenses and executing attacks with precision. 

•-SKILL•-

-Dash (lvl 2)

Description: Ability to enhance movement, allowing to quickly close the distance to enemies or evade attacks.

-Cloud Jump (lvl 2)

Description: This skill enhances mobility creating cloud platforms to gain height and maneuver seamlessly when activated.

•-SHOP•-

WEAPONS

[All C-rank swords are unlocked and available for purchase]

-Elemental Sword: (Cost; 200 system token)

-Shadow Blade: (Cost; 500 system token)

-Demon Slayer Sword: (Cost;1000 system token)

ACCESSORIES

•Health Potion: Restores a potion of health when consumed.

•Mana Potion: Restores a potion of mana for casting spells.

•Stamina Elixir: Boosts stamina recovery for a short period of time.

[All potions costs 50 system token for current level]

"That's a lot of progression with just one quest successfully completed." Ace said to himself as he smiled at the status window.

"Who's it you're looking for?" Six suddenly broke in, a forced smile rendering her face as she tried to hide her concern.

He cleared his throat then said, "Thought you should have left by now." 

"I did a little bit of thinking," Six snapped, walking in circles with one folded arm against her chest while the other was underneath her chin as if she was trying to solve some mathematical problems. "I can't seem to wrap my head around it. Why would you suddenly become furious at the mention of your neck-piece?"

"And?..." 

"I finally came to a resolve. There's someone you're looking for in the academy, right?"

Wiping the beads of sweat that had boiled out of his skin and turned his disheveled hair into separate strands, Ace blurted.

"What does that matter to you, Six?"

A sinister grin grew on her lips as it seemed things were going according to her own plans. 

"Maybe meeting me this early is your lucky charm. I know where you can start your findings for this girl you're looking for…" She paused, raising an eyebrow with uncertainty clearly written in her expression. "Only if you will let me."

Ace stared at her a little before turning away towards the exit of the training ground.

"Ace!" 

Taking that as a cue, a full fledged smile dominated Six's face and she ran after him to catch up for their first mission.

"Where to?" Ace asked, returning her smile a little.

"The library!"

***

–Library under construction. DO NOT VISIT!–

"Do not visit." He read out, his tone soft, but filled with contempt as if he had warned Six about their visit previously.

A devious grin crawled on her lips as she whispered. "Not to worry, Ace. I am your lucky charm." 

Without warning, she grabbed his hand in hers, a sharp contrast to his cold affinity. Her soft, gentle hold on his hand forced him to acknowledge her presence for the first time and the next thing Ace felt was the fabric of his soul fazing through the library's huge door with Six seamlessly pulling him along.

"Thrilling, right?" Six mused, hoping to get some accolades from him.

"I guess you're a C-rank awakener, then." Ace retorted, clearing his throat in an attempt to escape her question.

"A perfect A-Rank!" 

With a slight scoff, Ace turned away towards the block of shelves that stretched before them. It was just the beginning, but a sigh of exhaustion escaped her mouth.

"I have brought you here in one piece, so you should get to work." She muttered wearily through gritted teeth.

The glare Ace had in his eyes forced her to turn away quickly towards the eastern part of the library. "I will take this… end." She readily accepted.

"And who just got caught lurking around in a closed library?" A sharp feminine voice boomed from behind.

Ace was quick to turn at the direction of the voice, his heart skipping a bit as he laid his eyes on the one who had crept after them unconsciously.

It was the same woman from that afternoon. The one who had ended the duel at the centerline. Her hair curled away with the wind that was non-existent in the library, her white skin shining brighter than the moon light rays as she casted her luxurious eyes on him which were more deadly than they looked before.

"Jinx!" Six whispered, her fists tightening at her domineering presence.

"Care to tell me why you have come in here— alone?" Jinx questioned with a shrug smirk.

Instinctively, Ace tried to grab Six's hand and pull her behind him, but to his surprise, she was gone— vanished from the spot as if she was never there.

"W—"