When I came to, I saw that I was on top of a rooftop of a building.
"What an OP skill. So I can basically go anywhere I want using your system skill?"
-Indeed. It has usage limits. You can only use it for two times at the moment.
"Man, there's limits to everything."
-A new task has been assigned.
"Huh?"
IS suddenly made a screen appear in front of my eyes. By the way, IS stands for Infinite System. It was too tiring having to say Infinite System so much so I gave it a nickname.
Ding...!
[Task confirmed! Hunt 10 orcs in the D rank gate located in the Harmony district.]
[Orcs: 0/10]
[Reward: [STR +50 ] [AG +50 ] [ MP +600] [LV +5]
Skills – Mana shield(sacrifice 40% of your mana to cast a barrier that can block some attacks. The strength depends on the amount of mana used)
-
That was basically what it said.
"That many orcs... The reward looks good but why so many orcs?"
-I have warned you before that the tasks may vary in difficulty. You may be an E rank hunter but your stats are already comparable to a D rank. This was possible due to your skill Absolute Defense. Accept the punishment then you can get 30% of the reward.
"Okay, okay. I'll do it. Anyways, show me the punishment."
Ding...!
[Punishment for not completing task results in being sent to the Nightmare World where many horrors exist.]
[Duration: 2 day(s)]
-
"Nightmare world? What is that?"
-It refers to the dimensional plain that imitates the monsters and environments found in the Ragnarok gate.
"Hold on!"
I stopped just when I was about to run down the stairs.
"Why the hell would you do that!? Isn't that too extreme!?"
'There's no way in hell I'm abandoning this task.'
-No. I gave you a reasonable punishment. The quests I give you are important in your growth so I must give out harsh punishments.
"But still... What if I encounter something similar to that fallen god? The very act of looking into its eyes scared me to death. I was paralyzed with fear."
-Overcome it.
"Easy for you to say."
-It is only an imitation of the world. It is not real. Although the pain of being torn apart by the monsters are.
"You fucking sadist. So I have to die again in a simulation of a world?"
-Yes. This is to encourage you to do the tasks.
I sighed.
'But he's right. It's necessary for me to steel my will. That's the most important thing for a hunter once they do a raid.'
If you lacked the determination to do a raid then you already lost the right to be called a hunter. There had been many cases of me not believing in myself and making mistakes during my hunts.
It was anything like making noise while I was stalking my prey to losing focus while being attacked by a monster. There was that one time where I was pierced through by a spear after my head was filled with hesitation on what to do.
"Will I get skills every time I do a task?"
-No. Getting skills is random as well. But you will receive skills as a reward one hundred percent if the task is ranked S and higher.
I shivered.
"Rank S, huh..."
I was already having a hard time with E rank missions. I should focus on getting stronger before even thinking about those kinds of quests.
-Please note that S rank missions aren't always about hunting monsters. They could be missions that involve the real world as well. Like saving a person with lots of importance to the future for example.
"I see."
While walking down the stairs I suddenly had a thought.
'I'll need to enter a gate again.'
This didn't excite me anymore like in the past. Rather, I felt fear. What if the same thing happened to me even with the power I gained so far? I had the average strength of a rank D hunter at the moment but I wasn't sure if that would be enough.
The trauma from getting beat up by goblins was just too much. There were even times when I feared for my life. The injuries I received from then was also vivid in my mind. I lost an eye, a hand and even an entire arm.
Even if the wounds from all those times were healed by advanced rank magic potions, the scars within my heart remained.
I didn't expect to change exponentially after dying once but I wanted to at least rid myself of this fear. The fact that Sylvia invited me to a raid clouded my judgement last time. I knew that I would've refuse if it was anyone else.
-May I say something?
When I was thinking to myself while walking down the corridor, IS spoke.
"Why are you polite all of a sudden?"
It was strange.
-If you die then I die with you. It's natural that I should guide you in life.
"All you've been doing so far is insult me though."
-I was sincere.
"This bastard."
If it was a real person then I would've punched it already.
-Do not clutch onto others hoping they'd pave a path for you to become stronger.
"Huh? What's with the philosophy all of a sudden?"
-Take this seriously. Your love and admiration for this Sylvia girl can bring you to ruin. Once you enter those gates alone then you only have yourself to rely on.
"...."
-It has only been a few days but I'm already tired of looking at your pathetic self. This is why I insult you. You are a sore in my eyes for complaining while everything is served to you on a platter.
"Hey, now..."
-I know humans do not change that quickly. But you should at least look back at the past you and say you never want to become that person again.
I stood at the front door of my dorm room.
"..."
-Think about your motivation for getting stronger. Find the real reason. Standing next to the one you love is not a reason to become strong. That person can one day decide to leave and then what are you left with?
"..."
-You'll only have that worthless love left. That power you gained will have lost all meaning. You'd rather kill yourself than live without your loved one. This is why you should look for the real reason why you want to become the strongest. As your system, I will give you reasonable rewards for your devotion but if you kill yourself over the despair of losing the one you love then you're basically insulting the very goddess that made you live again. The one who gave you a chance at life again. She sacrificed her power as a deity because she thought you were special. Remember that no one is there to see your progress or the new beginning after your end.... They'll only see your success and never question how you were able to achieve it.
A few seconds later, the screens that were in front of my eyes vanished.
"IS?"
There was no answer.
'Dammit... Why didn't I realize it sooner...'
I was complaining even though I had a system that could be the stepping stone to becoming the strongest in the world.
"Huh? Ethan?"
The door opened while I was standing there like a statue.
"Oh! You're back!"
Arius came towards me and looked me up and down.
"Yeah... How's it going?"
He led me inside after I put my bags down.
"There's been an uproar about this being that Sylvia's raid party fought. The Hunter's Association has been a mess. They've been requesting multiple aircrafts from us to enter that warp gate's world. The people of that raid party say that they saw some bizarre things through the window of that floor you were on."
I remembered those two suns that I saw through the glass dome.
'There are more than two worlds in the gates.'
Why didn't we think about this sooner? If it was possible for two worlds to exist inside the White and Black gate then there are bound to be more.
"Classes are cancelled for today. The media has been swarming the academy too much. By the way, how did you get past them? You were part of the raid party so you would be the one they'd most likely want to interview."
"Ah, that..."
I scratched my neck.
'I wonder what the rank is of that system skill... I need to ask IS when he comes back again.'
I looked around and noticed the pigsty of a room we had.
"Oi. Why the hell is there so many things lying around? Where the hell are my bedsheets. You should know that I brought those from home."
"E-Err..."
Instead of asking why I suddenly changed the subject, he replied in a fluster.
"W-Well, I had a few friends over this weekend."
"This room smells like a fishing market, you bastard."
"Hehehe. Well, they were female friends..."
"Haa... I knew it."
"Anyway, what are you doing on your off-day? I'm going on a shopping date with my fiancé."
"Oh... Since classes were cancelled..." I tilted my head and thought about what to do. "Ah..."
I suddenly realized.
"I'm going to enter a gate."
"This early in the morning? It's not even 10am yet."
"Well, I have a reason for going so early."
It wasn't easy to find lone orcs. Some have tribes as they normally number in the twenties or thirties. Many strays can be found scattered through the forests but it was unlikely that I'll complete my task in a day. It was too dangerous to fight orcs if they had comrades nearby.
'Wait, I don't have a weapon...'
I looked at Arius.
"U-Um, lord Arius?"
"Huh? Why are you talking like that?"
"Well, I was wondering if the great lord Arius had a weapon to lend to this lowly me. I don't have time to look for one at the blacksmiths."
I innocently blinked my eyes while looking up at him.
"Lord Arius would save this lowly me the trouble of searching for a good weapon all day. Please? I'll give it back."
"Kuhum. I might have a short sword somewhere in my storage bag. I'll check."
'Oi. Why are you blushing?'
He went towards his side of the room and started rummaging through his stuff.
"Ah, found it."
He took out a black short sword that was the size of his arm.
'That thing looks like it's high quality.'
Although not as good as Fafnir's Fang. The durability might be good enough to last for a few raids.
"Thanks."
I scanned my hologram card over it.
-
[Rank: C]
[Durability: 345/380]
[ATKP: 400]
This dagger can increase the wielder's physical strength by 100.
-
"Eh..."
"Something wrong?"
"Ah, no. It's nothing."
'I guess it'll be good enough.'
"I'll be heading out now. There's some leftover cake from last night if you're interested. We celebrated a birthday, after all."
He put on his leather jacket and grabbed his car keys before leaving.
After he left, I took out my storage bag to confirm my equipment.
Chainmail+ Leather armour:
[Rank: C]
[DEF: 800/985]
[Durability: 1100/1200]
Wrist guards:
[Rank: C]
[DEF: 800]
[Durability: 500]
-
These were some of the things I kept in my storage bag for months. I didn't meet the requirements before but right now I do. An E ranker such as myself needs to buy equipment at least a rank above my level to have the minimum amount of protection. Since I had power similar to a D ranker, C rank equipment would be my best option right now. This counted for weapons as well. By the way, the hologram card automatically ranks you.
These requirements didn't matter once you reach S rank. It only counts for low ranking hunters.
When I checked my hologram card status, I confirmed that the short sword did indeed increase my physical strength.
"Am I ready for this...?"
I thought to myself while putting on my armour and wrist guards.
They still fit even after an entire year of not using them.
"No...Remember what IS said."
Find out the real reason why you want strength
"I'll think about this afterwards. For now, I should focus on the quest."
My path to becoming the strongest wouldn't be a road devoid of obstacles. Overcoming my weakness and fear were two of them.