Training

"Dude, you need to stop daydreaming." Edward raised his voice and waved his hand. I was too distracted by the system notifications to even notice Edward discussing our deal with Emma. It seemed he managed to have a whole conversation about it without me. For now, I tried to focus on my conversation with Edward, but it was difficult to shake off the notifications in my mind. "What do you think Emma meant when she said she wants to hunt bigger game?" I asked Edward, realizing I hadn't been paying attention before. "Well, I guess she somehow knows which portal we'll enter, and she needs some specific loot," Edward explained. "Cadets can only hunt in certain zones; leaving that zone is prohibited because stronger monsters would be present," he continued, his voice filled with restless emotion as his feet began to tap rapidly. "Well, you saw it—she was A tier. I think we'll be okay; she must be one of the strongest here." I tried to calm Edward, sensing the tension building in the room. "I guess you're right; no need to worry about it now," he replied. "Oh yeah, Simon, how did you manage to take down Eric? He's also B tier like me; he's not weak." Edward's curiosity got the best of him. I stood silent for a moment. Should I tell him about my Bond and the new ability I acquired? It would be helpful to train with someone who knows at least a bit about combat. Edward has been the most trustworthy person here since I arrived; heck, he's even willing to break the law with me, potentially putting himself in danger. "Well, I have more abilities than just healing," I explained slowly, trying not to reveal too much information. "I can conjure my weapon at will, I guess, and I also have one more ability, but I haven't used it yet, so I can't tell you much about it. If it's not too much to ask, I would like for you to train with me; maybe…"

Edward sat there in silence, then took his phone from his pocket, glanced at the time, and frowned. "You are full of surprises, and I have a ton of questions for you," he said, a wide and friendly smile spreading across his face. He shifted to sit on the other side of my bed, closing the distance between us as if we were about to share a secret. After getting comfortable, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He stared at it for a few seconds before putting it away and said, "Well, right now I have to meet somebody, but tomorrow, after classes, we'll find a private corner in the garden. You can show me what you can do, and I'll try to give you some tips on how to handle your blade." He stood up and hurried out of the room.

At least I was alone. Now I could see what had happened with the system and understand what this Blink Skill is.

Before I even got to investigate my new skill, my mind was blown away. The system has changed; I could see my level and how many points I needed to level up.

Level 2 (0/100)

As I stared at the display showing Level 2 and the points required to level up, a message appeared:

"Level up by completing quests or defeating strong enemies."

That was helpful, I thought. My amusement didn't stop there; I noticed another feature in the system, something called mana. It indicated my mana was 40/40. At first glance, that didn't seem like much, but maybe 40 was good? I had no idea what mana was or what it did. Leveling up was relatively straightforward; I didn't require much time to understand how it worked. I chose to move on, even though I was uncertain about mana, and simply looking at it didn't provide any further information.

I placed my hands behind my head, and a small smile crept onto my face. I felt stronger and more confident. I wasn't exactly sure, but if I had to guess, leveling up had made me stronger and faster. It didn't feel like a giant change, but I could sense it. Now, I was eager to explore my new skill.

Blink Level 1: You have bonded with a weapon; you are one with your weapon; you are a weapon. You can instantly materialize next to your weapon. Cost—20 mana.

My small smile blossomed into a wide grin. There was a lot of stuff I could do with an ability like this. As I let my imagination run wild, I noticed a slight downside to this ability. At least I now understood what mana was. The drawback was that I could only use this ability twice. I had no idea how quickly mana would regenerate; perhaps I could only use it twice a day—which wasn't very useful. Still, it was a Level 1 ability. Would it become stronger as I leveled up? How do I level it up? Do I need to use it frequently, and is that how leveling the skill works? My head began to ache from thinking about the system, Emma, and especially Adam and his three musketeers. Brook was also on my mind; I couldn't shake the feeling that he had something sinister planned for me. I seemed to have gotten off too easily. Lying in bed, still staring at the ceiling, I noticed it was already dark outside, with street lamps illuminating the roads and a couple of guards smoking beneath one of the lampposts. Edward was still not in his room. I didn't dwell on it too much; this wasn't the first time. Maybe he had made a lady friend at the academy and was practicing breaking the rules in advance.

The next day after classes, Edward and I walked through the garden, searching for a secluded spot. The garden was filled with fallen red leaves, covering most of the path. The park looked beautiful at this time of the year, as the summer is ending and leaves are falling. After a short hike, we discovered the perfect place: an empty circular area, blanketed with small grass and leaves, bordered by trees that provided privacy from passersby. Once we reached the center of the circle, Edward stopped, turned to me, pulled out his two-handed sword, and said, "Okay, let's do it." Show me what you've got." I concentrated on my blade, and predictably, it materialized in my hand. Edward watched as the sword materialized from nothing, his face breaking into a giant smile. "That was cool. Let's see that other skill you've got."

For a moment, I wasn't sure what to do; the simplest option was to stab my sword into the ground and step back a few feet. I closed my eyes, opened my hand, and thought, "Blink." The sword handle turned black, and black threads began to materialize from my wrist and the weapon handle. Threads extended up my forearms and from the handle to the blade, as if attempting to connect with one another, despite the distance between us. It all happened so quickly that a low-level hunter would likely miss it. For Edward, it was just as rapid; he saw the handle darken for a second, and the next moment, I was standing in front of him with a firm grip on the sword. Without pausing to think, I raised the sword and threw it at a tree. It flew through the air, spinning horizontally, and just before the blade struck the tree, I cast Blink again. My body materialized from the handle of the blade, and I propelled myself forward with the momentum of the flying sword, aiming for a powerful swipe. I aligned my body with the sword's rotation, exerting my utmost effort. When the blade connected with the tree, it sliced through cleanly, leaving a perfect cut. When I use Blink, I always seem to materialize from the handle of the sword, which ensures that I always have a sword in my hand.

I looked at Edward, pleased with my display, but he just stared back at me with no emotion, trying to process what had just happened. "I don't think I want to be on the receiving end of that blade; you can do some sneaky stuff with it," Edward said, his voice tinged with shock. "But I can still teach you the basics of combat," he said, picking up two sticks from the ground and tossing one to me. "Here I come," he yelled, executing a clean feint with one stick before striking me directly in the face.