After the test, it was finally time for Kal to enter the reawakening pool. The pool was the size of a jacuzzi and the crystal clear water is made up of really small nanobots that moved and acts just like water.
"In this pool are nanobots that will assist you in the reawakening process, all you need to do is enter the pool and concentrate. The process will hurt since the nanobots will be absorbing all the impurities in your body including all the unrefined mana. After it has removed all the unrefined mana inside you, they will refine the mana and release it back, your task is too absorb as much refined as you can. Never lose your concentration, if you lose your concentration, you might loose all the refined mana and fail to increase your mana core's capacity thus losing all the efforts you did in improving." Joe explained in a serious tone.
"So does that mean I have to redo everything next year if I fail in absorbing all the refined mana?" Kal asked in shock.
"Yes, that's the worst thing that could probably happen, but considering the growth you are transpiring, it should be a piece of cake." He assured Kal and hold up an 'OK' sign with his hand.
Kal removed all his clothing to remove the hindrance it may cause in the reawakening process. He entered the pool and the nanobots started glowing in a light bluish color when his body came into contact with them.
'They feel and act just like water!' Kal said in surprise.
"I'll activate the process now."
"Wait-..Arrrgggggghhhh!!" Kal screamed in pain. When Joe activate the nanobots, the nanobots started move like swarms of bugs sticking on Kal's body. The transparent crystallized body it had turned into a grey color instantly after it stick like a suction into his skin.
'It hurts! I feel like countless of needles are being injected in my entire body sucking my entire fluids outnbut this doesn't compare to what I had to suffer from the cleansing process!' He continue to groan in pain. As the entire nanobots had been fully dyed in gray color it remove itself from his body and settled back in the pool, Kal was able to get a breath of fresh air after getting drowned from them.
"Puah!" Kal pant as he exhaled air.
"Don't be relieved yet! The nanobots are now refining the mana so focus your sense once again!" Joe called to Kal. Shortly after his call, the nanobots started to swirl rapidly, the gray color inside them was converted into a bluish white essence that was released to the pool moving slowly as it goes.
"That light bluish essence is the purest form of mana! Hurry and absorb as much as you can into your body because it will deteriorate in a few seconds!" Joe said to Kal loudly. Immediately, Kal concentrated. He opened his mana core and began absorbing the pure mana essence, the essence flowed into his mana stream and when it entered his mana core, a window panel appeared in his view.
+20 EXP
+18 EXP
+22 EXP
+21 EXP
.
.
.
.
'I knew it! The unrefined mana is just experience points! So reawakening is simply delaying your level up!' Kal grinned in joy after getting his theory an answer, and the answer was just as what he expected. He continued to absorb all the pure mana essence and after absorbing all of it, he gained 4 levels as answer result, he was level 10.
Ting~
NAME: KAL NIETES
RACE: HUMAN
JOB:
TITLE:
LEVEL: 10 (8%)
HEALTH: 250/250
MANA: 80/80 (+500)
STRENGTH: 24
AGILITY: 21
INTELLIGENCE: 8 (+50)
STAMINA: 20
STATUS POINTS: 80
'Neat! But I can't distribute my points now, if my overall status quadruples, I might not be able exert the strength I needed and they might evaluate me as a D-rank.
Ting~
JOB QUEST IS NOW OPEN!
Possible jobs to choose: (Press to check the job information)
-Warrior
-Assassin
-Archer
-Knight
-Magician
-Dark Mage
-Priest
-Swordsman
-Barbarian
-Bandit
-Summoner
-Hunter
.
.
.
.
-
'What is this? I can now choose my job?' Kal said to himself. He checked the endless variety of jobs and if he was to check one by one to find a job that'll suit him, it might take a very long time.
"Kal! You can get out of there now!" Joe called out to Kal.
'I'll check it later.' Kal retrieve the window panel and got out of the pool. He grabbed a clean towel and wiped his body to wipe all the impurities secreted from the process. He wore a set of clothes that was given to him and got out of the reawakening room.
"How was it? Did you feel stronger now?" Joe ask in curiosity.
"Yeah, I feel two times stronger!" Kal replied with a smile in his face.
"You look very delighted even though you were groaning in pain seconds ago." Joe said in a light heartedly manner.
"Yep! I feel like all the fatigue in my body had washed off." He said as he began moving his body energetically to show that he was fully energized.
"Well then, let's see how much you have improved." Joe and Kal returned back to the testing room. They first tried the strength test and when Kal punched the machine, the numbers went up to 050.
"A perfect 50 points! Your strength has now doubled and this should be enough validation to put you to E-rank!" Joe said congratulating Kal.
'Now hunters will stop nagging me from that horrible nick name and they will stop teasing me as a weakest hunter!' Kal smiled in joy. Though Kal was just exerting the basic strength he had, he just wanted to make himself feel at joy so Joe would see that he was genuinely delighted from his improvement. Next was the agility test, Kal ran in the treadmill at his top speed and the numbers shown in the screen went up to 062.
"Amazing! Your speed also doubled up! So are you sstisifed with the fruit of your labor? Well the answer should be obvious but now you are finally a certified E-rank hunter! You are now eligible to enter E-rank sanctums and purchase better equipment! You also get better benefits and at this stage, you can enter tournaments and have a chance to be scouted by guilds! Who knew you might be able to enter top-notch guilds in this country like Weaving Swords Guild, Maktan Guild or Sandugo Guild!" Joe said to Kal. Kal just smiled and act delighted by his words but he wasn't planning on entering tournaments or joining guilds for now.
'For now, I should focus on my job quest, I still don't know what to expect from this but I can tell that it's a very important matter.' Kal said in thought. After the reawakening process, Kal acquired his new hunter's license card and when he showed it to Dante, he was joyful by the news and treated Kal to a meal.
"Now that you're an E-rank, you can finally enter our sanctum since it's an E-D-rank but before that, shouldn't I test your skills first? I was told by Dontrelle to train you and I'm always wondering how good you are as a marksman and as an assassin." Dante said to Kal with a smile in his face.
'This might be a good chance for me to learn from a B-ranker! I shouldn't waste this opportunity!' Kal thought to himself.
"Sure! I'd be happy to!" Kal replied giving him the same smile to Dante. They stood up from their seat and went to a private training room solely owned by Dante. The room was as big as a hall and the designs in the background had been covered by trees that almost depict a small forest. The ground was patched with dirt and grass and the ceiling was a glass encasement so the sunlight could enter the hall. From the branches of the trees inhabits different birds and there was even a small river bank on the side giving the whole training room a feel of nature.
"Wow! This room is beautiful! Its design definitely suits your gentle personality but why would you go for this look? From your power alone, you might end up destroying the trees and kill the birds here?" Kal asked in confusion.
"Hahaha, don't worry, this room has been fortified with a B-rank barrier so even if I go all out, at best I could do is crack the barrier but it would simply regenerate the damage it absorbed. Also I want a natural feel when I train as if I could be one with nature and I wish to fly and soar in the sky with birds that are flying by." Dante said admiring the scenery of his room.
"I understand, how about we start?" Kal said as he grab a dagger from the weaponry placed on the side of the room. A window panel then appeared in his view after he grab hold of the dagger.
Ting~
TRAINING STEEL DAGGER
Rank: E
Attack: -:-
Durability: 120/120
Practice Weapon: It's a weapon purposely for training, it cannot deal any significant damage to an opponent but can be very useful for practice. Prolonged use of this weapon grants you 1 status point capped at 20 points (0/20)
'This weapon also gives status points? Neat.' Kal said to himself with a slight grin in his face.
"That's just a weapon for training so it won't deal much harm to a person. You'd have to use your own raw power to deal significant damage but that still won't harm me in any way. So how about this, I will use my left hand and restrain myself from using my right hand, I will also not move from my position. All you have to do is land a successful attack into me and I'll give you a decent martial skill or a good weapon of your choosing? But if you lose, I'll be giving you a very intensive training for a week straight." Dante said with a smug in his face. He brought out a wooden sword from the weaponry and wield it using his left hand and he place his right hand behind his back.
'I'm fine with losing but getting a martial skill or a weapon from someone like Dante would greatly benefit me!' Kal exclaimed in thought. Martial Skill is a type of skill that doesn't use any mana, to learn martial skills, the martial art you learned should be suitable for the skill you wish to use because the skill may not show its full effect if paired with an incompatible martial art.
"Okay I'll accept but if I want to win, I have to go all out right?" Kals asked Dante.
"Hmm? Oh sure, do whatever you want but make sure to impress me!" Dante exclaimed. Kal then went back to the weaponry and grabbed a heavy bow and quiver with steel arrows.
Ting~
HEAVY IRON TRAINING BOW
Rank: E+
Range: 100-1500
Durability: 200/200
Passive-Long Shot: Due to its sturdy composition and elastic string, it can fire arrows at long range while maintaining the standard damage output.
Practice Weapon: It's a weapon purposely for training, it cannot deal any significant damage to an opponent but can be very useful for practice. Prolonged use of this weapon grants you 1 status point capped at 20 points (20/20)
"I'm ready!" Kal said gripping the dagger in his hand while wearing the bow in his back.
"Oho?" Dante said in response as he saw Kal with the weapons in hand.
'I still don't know how good he is in the bow but from what I've heard from Dontrelle, he uses the bow in a very peculiar way. And how he grips his knife tells me that he must have used one for years so I can tell he must good at it.' Dante thought to himself observing Kal as his eyebrows quivered.
Dash!
Kal immediately sprinted towards Dante holding his dagger on his right.
'He's very fast for his level but his posture is a bit stiff.' Dante thought to himself as he observed Kal. After Kal arrive to Dante's front, he slashed his dagger hitting his right knee where Dante could not easily reach but Dante responded the attack with a quick and gentle weave of his sword warding Kal back off by a few meters.
'I expected him to be fast and powerful but for him to move his sword like silk thread is almost baffling!' Kal exclaimed in thought as he recompose himself from that collision.
'He seems to not have learned any martial arts connecting the art of assasination since his patterns are too basic and I don't see any techniques performed from that attack. Did he learn martial arts about using the bow but not martial arts about daggers?' Dante asked himself as he observed Kal's movements. Kal again dashed towards the right side of Dante where his left hand could not reach but the same thing happened over and over, each attack would be easily fend off by a single wave of his sword.
'So this is the difference between an E-rank and a B-rank? It's almost the difference between heaven and earth!' He exclaimed in thought admiring the power of Dante.
"I see that you are completely lacking in using shorthanded weapons, that tells me you haven't learn a martial art regarding it. But I applause you because even if you haven't learned any martial art, you have the basics of using such weapons and your experience helps you act within your instinct. Now that I've seen your skills in the dagger, how about your show your bow next so I can see the difference between the two?" Dante said to Kal as he pointed his sword to the bow in his back.
"Give me a bit more time." The reason for this was he wanted to observe Dante's movements. Even though his [ANALYSIS] didn't properly work due to the high level gap between him and the taget, when he continued on dealing attacks, Kal could slowly now slowly predict the movement of his sword.
'My body can't keep up with his speed and attack but I can slowly discern his attack pattern. How about I distribute 15 points in strength and agility?' The window panel then popped up in his view showing his status attributes as he distribute his points to it.
Ting~
NAME: KAL NIETES
RACE: HUMAN
JOB:
TITLE:
LEVEL: 10 (8%)
HEALTH: 250/250
MANA: 580/580
STRENGTH: 24 (+15)
AGILITY: 21 (+15)
INTELLIGENCE: 58
STAMINA: 20
STATUS POINTS: 80 (-30)
'Oh! I feel lighter now, this should be enough!' After seeing the improvements in his body, Kal dash towards Dante like a javelin. This immediately caught Dante off-guard.
'He became faster!' Dante exclaimed in bewilderment. He immediately fend and block of Kal's barrage of attacks which was still easy but it still surprised him due to the increased speed of the attacks.
Ting~
YOU HAVE GAINED ONE STATUS POINTS!
.
.
.
The barrage of attacks gave Kal status points from the passive of the training dagger, the sound of the ringing tone made Kal feel at ease as he continually assualt Dante with his dagger.
'So the passive activates more frequently if I spar with much stronger opponents.' Kal said in thought.
'This is getting annoying!' Dante who was getting infuriated at Kal's repititive strikes gripped his sword tightly and began exerting more power to it.
Pang!
Dante's powerful blow blasted Kal up in the air.
'Crap! I accidentally use my true strength!' Dante who immediately realized his mistake wanted to go and save Kal who was about to crash hard in the ground but in his surprise, Kal manage to balance himself airborne.
"Eat this!" Kal fired arrows towards Dante at a very fast speed. The arrows caught Dante in a shock but Dante wasn't in panic and block all the arrows from coming his way.
Step!
"..!" Dante's eyes widened in astonishment. From the powerful attack Dante had just made it should be normal for Kal to blown away from the ground but he should've fallen down already but he didn't. Kal used the powerful momentum from the fired arrows to keep him from falling down and instead pushing him farther up and until he was up in the barrier of the ceiling, he stepped on the barrier and used it as a foothold and blast himself right down towards Dante.
As he bolted right down to Dante, Kal didn't stop firing his arrows to his direction. Dante blocked all of the arrows but as soon as he blocked the last wave of arrows, Kal grabbed the bottom handle of the heavy bow and use it as a mace bashing at Dante's head point but Dante parried the incoming attack by the flattened part of his sword.
'As expected!' Kal grinned seeing the small opportunity given to him. He immediately switch the face of the bow to the back so the flat part of the sword would hit the upper part of the string. As the string collided with the sword, Kal removed his grip from the bow causing the bow to flip in a 360 degree angle, he then quickly retrieve the last arrow in his quiver and align it with the bow as soon as it spun clockwise at the right moment giving him no time to waste to reload the bow and he held the bow quickly and fired the arrow at a blank point range.
'Impressive but this isn't enough to defeat me!' Dante exclaimed in thought as he was fascinated by Kal's display in his skills in using the bow. As soon as the arrow was facing his chest, Dante rotated his sword vertically cutting the point of the arrow in half.
"..!" Kal's eyes grew wide after seeing Dante's quick response and he knew he was gonna lose so he continued to fire the arrow even without a proper spearhead to hit with.
"It's the end." Dante weave his sword one final push causing Kal to tumble a couple meters on the ground. He began puking blood after suffering from that attack and he saw his health deplete in half almost immediately.
"You surprised me with your skills and I never thought you were that adept with using your bow. I don't see any flaw as far as I'm concerned and it was quite amazing to see how you use that bow in such barbaric manner. I've seen some archers who display great techniques with their bow but most of them rely in accuracy and long distance attacks but you're technique is different, from a standpoint of an archer, yours is almost the exact opposite but very astonishing. Your accuracy is sharp, the power of your attacks are really powerful and you even display amazing flexibility every time you fire an arrow, you always had the time to predict the enemy's attack and every arrow has its purpose for the next attack. But what I'm surprised is how you use your bow, you used it like a great sword and even made use of its unique properties! Though your dagger skills needs a lot of polishing but you have an instinct of an assassin, no wonder Jennifer finds you interesting! All in all, you are a very flexible hunter, if I can train you diligently, you might become a hunter that masters in both the bow and the dagger!" Dante said in awe, applauding for Kal but Kal grinned as he continued to spew blood from his mouth.
"I win." Kal said.
"What?" Dante asked confusingly.
"I said, I win." Kal said revealing a bloody smile.