"Do you know how difficult is to get a title?" Ivankov asked. He remembered that after two years of killing Snow Blade Bears, he got the title 'Blade Bears Slayer', while using that title, he has a bonus of 5% experience when killing a Blade family Bear.
"Well, I heard it was, especially unique titles," Viktor said nonchalantly.
Jin could see Ivankov's vein pop. The other students also knew the difficulty of getting a title. It was one of the first things they taught at the Academy.
"Which title the System gave you?" Rubí asked, she was excited to know.
"It gave me 'The Conqueror' title, and pointed out it was a unique title," Viktor's demeanor got a bit down.
"That's a strange title name," Jin pointed out.
"Yes, and it also has an outstanding bonus, it reads: 'You are capable of reading the Status Window of anyone whose level is the same as yours and lower."
Ivankov, Heller, and Jin were shocked by the information.
"That's just a cheat!" Yu exclaimed.
"That means you read Sora's status window after you met again?" Gareth asked.
"No, I read it after visiting him in the hospital three years ago," Viktor waited for Jin, Ivankov, and Heller to get what he was telling them.
Heller was the first to talk, while Ivankov was in deep thought.
"That means, Sora is also an Early Awakener," Heller couldn't believe his words.
"Yes, I read the title 'The Master' but didn't understand what it meant. However, that was the reason I wasn't surprised when the System announced his identity," Viktor was fidgeting with his sleeves' coat.
They stayed some minutes in silence until Ivankov spoke again.
"What is your level right now?"
"I'm level 20," Viktor answered truthfully.
All were astonished by that piece of information.
"How did you get to that level?" Jin asked him with some kind of suspicion.
"..." Viktor seemed troubled by the question. He wanted to answer but felt that it was kind of a cheat as the title the System bestowed him.
"Answer the question," Ivankov was still mad, and Viktor could hear it in his voice.
"I... the System gives me Daily Quests to do, and if I complete them it gives me rewards, if not it punishes me quite severely," Viktor answered with his head looking out of the window.
"So it's true..." Heller murmured, maybe he thought no one heard him, but he suddenly had everyone's attention. Viktor was a bit glad to stop being the spot of light in the car.
"What do you mean?" Francis asked.
Yu and Rubí jumped when they heard his voice, they actually forgot Francis was between them recuperating his energy.
Viktor suddenly snort, and Gareth couldn't help himself and started laughing. Francis smiled shyly while Rubí and Yu got completely red, well, at least Rubí was like a tomato.
"That's a way to cut the tension! Hahahaha!" Gareth said while laughing.
However, they stopped entirely after feeling a chill coming from the copilot side.
"Ehem!" Heller cleared his throat and attracted all the attention back to him, "I heard two years ago, that there were adventurers who bragged that they got Daily Quests and gained experience by completing them, however, it was a rare occurrence and in some cases, the Daily Quests simply stop appearing," he said in all seriousness.
Viktor paled after hearing that, while the other students smirked at his expense.
"So wait till you are like us, and increasing your level is not easy anymore," Rubí smirked.
"Don't get carried away, Early Awakeners are a lot much stronger, because of their easy access to gain experience. I don't want to brag, but my level is higher than Ivankov's," Derick suddenly joined the conversation, the light red could be seen through the front window of it.
"Is it true?" Jin asked.
"What's your level?" Yu, Gareth, and Rubí asked in unison.
"That's rude to ask," Heller glared at them.
Derick looked at Ivankov who nodded giving him permission to disclose that information.
"I'm level 50, Ivankov is level 45," Derick answered and continued driving after the light turned green.
"50?! How old are you?!" Viktor asked, he knew that Derick was stronger than his brother, but he didn't know that the level difference was five.
"He is 25 this year, two years younger than me, and as Heller said, his Daily Quests just stopped appearing two months ago. So it's my moment to surpass him," Ivankov wasn't smiling, but everyone could feel the daggers that were sent to Derick, while Derick shivered. A silent sentence was said.
"He is four years older than me and I'm at level 31," Jin exclaimed amazed.
"Lucky your generation, this event helped you a lot to level quickly," Ivankov was... pouting?
Viktor couldn't believe his eyes, while Derick was trying to stop laughing at his superior's face, but he knew that he will suffer if he allow his laugh to slip.
"It's true, but it is also strange. Why the System started an Event so suddenly? Furthermore, it matches the appearance of The Master..." Heller could read the tension and the explosive atmosphere that was waiting to be ignited, so he changed the topic.
"You think that it is not a coincidence?" Jin followed up on the change of topic.
"Now that you said it, I remember in one of our classes Teacher Loup recommended us a book. That book explained a theory that someone is behind the System, merely because it's strange its sudden appearance and change it brought, not only to our world but to other five," Francis suddenly spoke.
"That means... someone might be spying on us..." Gareth said and everyone became silent.
"Derick, go to this address. We will stay there until more information comes and the students can go back to their school," Ivankov showed him a piece of paper. Derick just nodded and continued driving.
"Where are you taking us to?" Jin asked.
"To my house," Ivankov told him.
"Why?"
"It's safe there. Until everything ends, it's best for you to stay with us. Unpleasant people might want to know what happened there, and I, for once, don't trust the Hunter Organization to keep us safe for the moment," Ivankov explained briefly.
Jin and Heller's expressions darken at the mention of this news, fully understanding what Ivankov was referring to.
"That's a conversation for another time," Jin could hear the question that was forming on the kids' tongues, silencing them before they could speak.
Viktor, Gareth, and Rubí seemed upset but didn't ask anymore.
The silence was kind of awkward and Rubí suddenly smiled and Francis noticed her. He couldn't stop her on time.
"So... tell us, dear Viktor... you seemed quite close with Sora, and I know that he has a beautiful face," a malicious smile appeared on her young face.
Everyone tensed. They knew that Rubí wanted some answers about Sora. They couldn't deny Sora's handsomeness but it was kind of a direct question.
All the occupants of the backseat naturally turned to look at Viktor. Jin and Heller were burning with a curious desire to know. You can tell from their eyes looking like two little fires.
"What are implying?" Viktor visibly paled after hearing Rubí's question.
"You know what... Hehe..." Rubí made a flirtatious face, making him feel uncomfortable.
"Whatever you are thinking in that dirty mind of you, we are only friends," Viktor was turning from pale to a bit red.
That reaction made Gareth and Yu laugh aloud while Francis just showed a smile.
Derick looked through the mirror and smiled to himself. He thought to himself that that girl knew how to break the ice. The rest of the trip was to tease Viktor, who continued to deny every comment and turned every time redder.
Derick looked at Ivankov through the corner of his eye and saw the slight blush in his ears. He smiled to himself.
"What are you laughing at?" Ivankov asked him suddenly.
"Nothing, I was just happy to see the kids more lively than before," Derick evaded the question expertly.
Maybe, he was stronger at the moment than Ivankov, but Ivankov had more experience than him.
They reached their destination and Derick turned off the car. Everyone got out of the car and looked at the big house that was in front of them. It was a magnificent sight.
"Ok there are ten rooms, five of them have twin beds. Two have king-size beds, and three have a single individual bed. You are prohibited from choosing one of the two rooms with king-size beds," Ivankov told the students with a serious face, "Choose one of the other ones, Rubí, you better choose one of the single beds' rooms. That's all, I'll see you in an hour in the living room," he sent them off.
In the end, the rooms were chosen as follows: Rubí, Jin, and Heller got the single-bed rooms. Gareth and Viktor shared a room, while Yu and Francis stayed in the other one with twin beds. Derick and Ivankov ended up in the king-size-bed rooms.
One hour after, they were gathered in the living room to watch the news.
"Explosive NEWS! All the PORTALS have closed!" was read in the band of news.
"We just got information confirming that, indeed, all portals on Earth are closed. Some people came from the portals before they closed announcing that they come from another world, and the System gave them the warning to leave the dungeons as fast as they could. So they ended up going through any portal they found. Some hunters from Earth are declared lost in action because of this sudden phenomenon. Adventurers, they called themselves like that, are being relocated by the Hunter's Organization to help them adapt and live on Earth. Some confrontations have been stopped, and it is common knowledge that Hunters and Adventurers are not on the best terms, so..." the woman reporting the news continued her monologue.
Ivankov received a call where he just answered with a yes, and that there is no problem.
Everyone was so intrigued and stupefied by the news, that they nearly missed the bell ringing from the door.
Ivankov went to open the door and found himself in front of one man in black, and, two girls, and one boy, the three with pointy ears.
"Is this the residence of Ivankov Petrov?" a man in black asked Ivankov.